By United Pres International
The Oakland Raiders can repeat as AFC West champions Saturday for the first time since 1982-83 with a win over the San Diego Chargers in Week 14.
"We haven't won anything yet," said Joe Gruden, who coached the Raiders to their first division title since 1990 last season.
Unfortunately for Gruden, he may have to deal with the Notre Dame questions again after George O'Leary, who was named as coach last Sunday, resigned on Friday due to inaccuracies in his personal biography which caused a "breach of trust" with the school administration.
Gruden grew up in Indianapolis and his father, Jim, was an assistant coach at Notre Dame. But Gruden said he is not interested in the job, preferring to stay with the Raiders.
Oakland (9-3), which leads the Denver Broncos (7-6) by two games in the division, has won seven of the last eight meetings with the Chargers (5-8).
The Chargers are mired in a six-game losing streak and have lost eight of 10 since winning their first three games.
The teams played an exciting game last month in Oakland. Jerry Rice caught eight passes for 131 yards and three touchdowns, including the go-ahead 20-yard score on a trademark slant with 2:46 left in the fourth quarter, as the Raiders posted a 34-24 victory.
The NFL's all-time leader in catches, receiving yards and touchdowns, Rice also caught scoring passes of 12 and 30 yards and has 38 receptions for 637 yards and nine touchdowns in five career games against San Diego.
The Raiders' defense did a good job shutting down Doug Flutie and rookie LaDainian Tomlinson in the victory. Flutie completed just 12-of-27 passes for 98 yards with an interception. Tomlinson was held to 68 yards on 22 carries.
In the first game on Saturday to kick off Week 14, the defending NFC champion New York Giants (5-7) seek to snap a three-game losing streak when they host the Arizona Cardinals (5-7).
Both teams trail the first-place Philadelphia Eagles (8-4) by three games in the NFC East and are each two games behind the final wild card berth.
