OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Jon Kitna gave Detroit a fourth-quarter lead with his third touchdown pass Sunday, and the Lions scored 16 points in the final 4:22 to defeat Oakland, 36-21.
The Raiders took a 21-20 lead midway through the fourth period on Josh McCown's seven-yard touchdown pass to Justin Griffith, but Kitna then drove the Lions 80 yards in seven plays, and finished off the march by hitting Shaun McDonald with a 32-yarder.
A two-point conversion attempt failed, but Oakland's hopes of regaining the lead crumbled down the stretch as McCown threw an interception on one possession and running back Zach Miller fumbled the ball away on another.
Detroit turned the first mistake into a 23-yard field goal by Jason Hanson and then capitalized on the fumble to produce a touchdown on Tatum Bell's 14-yard run with 1:21 remaining.
Kitna completed 27 of 36 passes for 289 yards and was intercepted twice. He threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Roy Williams in the first period and a 16-yarder to Calvin Johnson in the third.
McCown was 30 of 40 for 315 yards, but it wasn't enough to make a winner out of Lane Kiffin in his NFL head coaching debut. Oakland this year made Kiffin the youngest head coach in the NFL. He is the Raiders' fifth coach in seven years.
