Newz Forum: FOOTBALL: Rice's streak over, but Raiders win

OAKLAND, Calif. (Sept. 19, 2004) -- Reality hit Jerry Rice in the final minutes and his spontaneous reaction was somewhat shocking: He kicked a yard marker and hurled his helmet at the ground.

Rice didn't figure his team-first attitude would lead to the end of his NFL-record receptions streak.

But Ronald Curry's big day is a sign the Oakland Raiders will no longer rely as much on Rice in their talented receiving corps. Rice's record streak of 274 games with a catch ended, and Curry caught five passes for 89 yards and a touchdown in the Raiders' 13-10 victory against the Buffalo Bills.

"I expect to catch footballs," Rice said. "I never thought it would come to an end like this. But, you know, it's OK. It's all right. It happens. Life goes on. I'll just start another one and get another 200."

Rice is still a starter, but has said he's willing to accept a lesser role for the Raiders (1-1) if it helps the team rebound from a 4-12 debacle. He didn't get a pass thrown his way until 2½ minutes before halftime -- and that was the only one.

The last time Rice didn't catch a pass was Dec. 1, 1985, at Washington. Rice was substituted almost every other play during Oakland's next-to-last drive. He came out with 2:37 left during a Buffalo timeout and threw his helmet to the ground, causing it to bounce over a metal bench.

He yelled in frustration and paced the sideline for several minutes, twice taking a seat alone on a bench.

Afterward, he joked about the whole thing.

"Oh yeah, I was working on my kicking, just in case (Sebastian Janikowski) had a little trouble," Rice said of booting the 30-yard marker. "I'm a competitor. You get a little frustrated at times and I apologize for that. Otherwise, I just enjoy the game and I love being a part of it, and I want to contribute to the team. It didn't happen today."

"All good things come to an end." I can forgive his frustration. Question: Think we will ever see this record fall?

That seems highly doubtful anytime soon, as the next one in line, Art Monk has been retired for what, 6-7 years?

But, records are made to be broken. Rules changes wil always impact the game, maybe more games in a season down the road. It wil eventually get broken, I'm sure.

Quite a record indeed.

I doubt this one will be broken for a very long time, doubtfully in our lifetime. It is very, very unusual for any football player to play in that many games straight, let alone catching a pass in every one. Football is a very physical sport and injuries come often, this is definitely an impressive record IMO. I saw his little frustration tantrum on the sideline, but I'll bet in afterthought that he wouldn't have traded his team's win for his record. Jerry's all about winning, I think he was more frustrated that Norv Turner was taking him out of the game every other play on the last drive of the game.

yea it was a great record, i think its going to be some time before that record is broken, but now and days with everything changing you cant be too sure