11. 2000 AFC Championship, the Siragusa Squish. Chuckie's formation-and-personnel-you-to-death O had no answers, no chance vs superior violence. We coulda played all day, no chance to score. Even with Gannon in there. By Q4, Chuckie was running Crockett and throwing to Terry Kirby. They were better than us. A shame. We matched up well with NG. Of course, Dorsett's and Pope's suicide angles vs Sharpe---longest enemy TD in all Raider history.

12. 1975 AFC Championship, Iced Sidelines, in PT. They broke our hearts last year, a week after S of H's, Greatest Loss #4. We played much better in freezing 3 Rivers. One of the hardest hitting games we ever played. 13 turnovers, 8 by them. Lambert recovered 3 fumbles. Swann and Bradshaw were both knocked unconscious. Biletnikoff, Willie Brown and Cline did not play. Typically, it was 0-3, late Q3. Suddenly, Franco popped free, from 25 yards out, Noll's patented trap, outta Split Backs, started up the middle, veered L, ran over Neal Colzie on the 10, scored, 0-10. Stabler came right back, 3 straight completions to Ghost, making his first ever start, Stork's first start, too. Then, on the 14, a brave look-in to rangy, angular, sharp elbowed, underrated Mike Siani, 7-10. But Hubbard fumbled late on our 25. And on 3rd and long, Bradshaw fired a tall ball, L sideline, 10 yard line, to sky hi Stallworth, who stole it from Colzie and scored, 7-16, after Gerela's miss. Blanda's FG made 10-16, way too late, tho, only :12 to go. But Hubbard got Guy's OSK. And Stabler bombed deep up the L side for Cliffy, caught on the 15, wrapped up by Mel Blount, then surrounded by the mob as the clock turned :00. Our 6th Title loss in 8 years, all 6 went on to win it all.

13. 1979 Finale, vs SE, at home. The 2nd meanest regular season loss we've known. We'd missed postseason in 78, unheard of. Stabler led the universe with 30 int's that year, at least 8 off recievers' hands. Very few QB's have thrown 30 picks. Already Old Blanda did it twice with HU in the early 60's (an astounding 42 in 1963). Plus, 5 missed PAT's in 1978 by Errol Mann cost us postseason, only 2nd time in 12 years. So, 1979. We lost week 12 at home to KC---Stabler, pissed, overcame 7-24 in the last 20:00. TD's to Derrick Ramsey and Branch, for 21-24. Then a clock beating hurryup, all the way to the 1. At :05, Jim Breech missed. Devastating. At 6-6, we were dead. Unless we were to win out our last 4, which the Nation entire knew, due to published calculations, would assure us a gig. The second of those final 4 must-wins of 79 was the silver southpaw's amazing comeback in NO on MNF. Still alive! was the context of that game. We beat CL in week 15, setting us up well, we all felt, for SE at home. Win and we're in. Surely, 78 was an aberration. Surely, SE's sweeping us in 78, their earlier win this year, also anomalies. The Hawks were, after all, just a 4th year expansion team. Instead, sprint draw, Jim Zorn style, continued to bedevil our front 7. And Lester Hayes, who'd had a great year, got burned all day by journeyman Sam McCullum's career day, 3rd down after 3rd down, and more, 8 grabs, 173 yards, a TD. And Stabler's 2 TE O---revolutionary O, still none like it, our TE's were great receivers---yes, Madden/Stabler's as-far-as-you-can-get-from-Vertical O, operating all day from behind, moved well but couldn't keep up. The expansion curse was a huge part of our earlier history.

14. Week 15, 1989, in SE, SNF. We'd missed postseason the last 3 years. Oh, how we wanted this one. Win and we're in, lose and recuse. Week 16 vs the Giants is irrelevent. Trailing by 4, late, Beurlein drove. Completed 3 passes to Swervin Mervyn Fernandez, the last a great leaper over CB Dwayne Harper on the 10. First and goal there. Marcus. He'd been hurt. Just returned last week. When he SOLVED our short yardage woes with the MOST prodigious leap---5 yards! Greatest goal line runner in history. And chomping ready. And---on the bench. We ran Steve Smith. Steve Smith (an outstanding blocking back). For a yard. Threw incomplete to: Steve Smith. Came up 4th and goal on the 10, playoffs on the line. Fern, slant R side, WIDE open, pass way too tall, can't even touch it.

Professor Eyepatch