Oakland Raiders: 30 Iconic Moments In Franchise History

Sep 24, 2014; Bagshot, UNITED KINGDOM; General view of Oakland Raiders helmet and Wilson footballs at practice at Pennyhill Park Hotel in advance of the NFL International Series game against the Miami Dolphins. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

25. October 19, 1997 – Records Were Meant To Be Broken

In 1987, Bo Jackson set a Raiders record with 221 rushing yards in a game against the Seahawks. It was a game in which he ruined Brian Bosworth’s life by absolutely trucking him after the outspoken Bosworth had spent the week building up to the game talking trash about containing Bo.

That record stood for a decade until Raiders running back Napoleon Kauffman broke it in a game against the Broncos.

It was a hard fought divisional matchup in a season that the Broncos would eventually go on to defeat the Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl. But against the Raiders, it was a back and forth game with turnovers, explosive offensive plays, and stifling defensive ones. And all the while, Kauffman kept churning out the yards. So impressive was Kauffman that Raider veteran lineman Steve Wisniewski had this to say:

"“Napoleon makes these ordinary runs look spectacular. It looks like up the middle and a cloud of dust, but he breaks them. It looks like two, three or four yards, and he’s hitting it for 40 or 50 yards. He reminds me very much of blocking for Bo Jackson.”"

Being compared to Bo Jackson is pretty high praise.

For the game, Kaufmann rushed for 227 yards, eclipsing Jackson’s mark set ten years earlier in a rout of the Seahawks. The Raiders just managed to squeak by the Broncos 28-25 on the strength of Kaufmann’s legs.

Next: December 18, 1982