Bills erupt in 2nd half to beat Raiders 38-35

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) - With the game on the line and his mother in the stands, Buffalo Bills receiver David Nelson had one thought going over and over in his mind as he found himself wide open over the middle in the end zone.

"Don't drop this ball. Don't drop this ball," Nelson said, recalling his 6-yard touchdown catch with 14 seconds left to seal a 38-35 victory over the Oakland Raiders in a frantic back-and-forth, fourth-quarter finish. "Those are the hardest catches sometimes."

Nelson, a member of the team's self-coined "No-Name" group of receivers, and the previously dismissed Bills are suddenly making winning look easy. A week after opening the season with a 41-7 blowout at Kansas City, Buffalo's red-hot offense showed it could win coming from behind in its home opener.

It's a different story for the Raiders (1-1), who took a step back in failing to build off of last week's 23-20 win at Denver.

In blowing a chance to open 2-0 for the first time since 2002, the Raiders' defense wilted over the final 30 minutes, and against an opponent that last year scored 20 or more points in a game four times.

The 38 points were the most allowed by Oakland in a loss since a 43-37 defeat to Seattle in 1998. And the Raiders allowed 481 yards - 326 in the second half - and 34 first downs.

"Good job by them, bad job by us," Raiders coach Hue Jackson said. "When it's all said and done, we did not finish the game."

Penalties played a factor. The Raiders had eight for 85 yards against Buffalo after being flagged 15 times for 131 yards against the Broncos.

And cornerback Chris Johnson had a chance to seal the win two plays before Nelson's touchdown.

Johnson got both hands on a pass intended for Donald Jones in the end zone, only to have the ball bounce away.

"The game would've been over," Johnson said. "I take this loss for the team today."

The Oakland offense clicked except for a spotty third quarter in which Darren McFadden lost a fumble that helped set up Stevie Johnson's 7-yard touchdown catch that cut the lead to 21-17.

McFadden scored twice, and combined for 143 yards from scrimmage. Jason Campbell went 23 of 33 for 323 yards and two touchdowns.

Campbell nearly pulled out a victory on the final play. From his own 44, he threw a desperation pass into the end zone, that was intercepted by rookie cornerback Da'Norris Searcy, who outwrestled receiver Denarius Moore for the ball.

The play was so close referee Mike Carey returned to the field 10 minutes after the game was over to announce to a near-empty stadium that a replay review had confirmed the interception.