53,045 fans in the stands and a national TV audience witnessed one of the greatest playoff games in NFL history. The game was won on a quarterback run with 10 seconds remaining.

Three months earlier, the Patriots belted the Raiders in Foxboro MA 48-17.

Nevertheless, the Patriots were six-point underdogs for the playoff game. They led most of the way until the Raiders staged a heartbreaking, controversial 68y drive to snatch victory from New England's jaws.

The Patriots mounted an 86y drive in 10 plays to take the lead. HB Andy Johnson went over from the one. Patriots 7 Raiders 0

The Raiders later admitted that they stacked their defense against the Patriots' running game early, hoping Grogan wouldn't throw well. But he did, completing 12 of 23 for 167y to set up the three Patriots scores on the afternoon.

Oakland got on the board on Errol Mann's 40y field goal in the first quarter. Then they went ahead on WR Fred Biletnikoff's leaping catch at the goal line of a 31y Stabler pass with just 39 seconds left in the first half. The key plays on the march were Stabler passes of 13y to Biletnikoff and 18 to TE Dave Casper. Raiders 10 Patriots 7

New England scored two touchdowns in a span of five minutes in the third quarter to go ahead 21-10. 6'6" 240lb TE Russ Francis caught a 26y TD pass from Grogan to end an 80y drive that featured a 21y completion to Francis and a 23y run by FB Sam Cunningham. Patriots 14 Raiders 10

The Patriots drove 55y in 10 plays to score with just 1:23 left in the third quarter. A key play was a 15y pass from Grogan to Andy Johnson. Jess Phillips bulled over from the three to make it Patriots 21 Raiders 10 heading into the final 15 minutes.

Oakland regained some momentum by staging a 70y, 11-play march early in the fourth quarter. The key gains came on a 11y and 10y passes from Stabler to Biletnikoff. RB Mark van Eeghen gained the final yard, and John Smith's PAT made it Patriots 21 Raiders 17 3:57 into the final period.

New England seemed to have the game in control with 4:30 left and third and one on the Raiders' 28. However, an offside penalty forced the Patriots into a passing situation. Grogan tried to throw to Francis. The pass was incomplete, but Raider LB Phil Villapiano was all over Francis.

"He held me all the way from the line of scrimmage," said Francis. "But the officials wouldn't make the call. We should have had a first down and the ball to keep going."

So the Raiders got the ball on their 32 with 4:12 on the clock. Trailing by four, they needed a touchdown, not a field goal.

"We were behind by 14 points to Pittsburgh in the first game of the season," said Stabler, "and we came back to beat them. I thought we could do it again today. In those situations, when you're fighting time, you have to do the things you do well, only do them faster."

A combination of Patriot penalties and Stabler completions to Biletnikoff and Casper moved the ball to the Patriots' 28, where the Raiders faced third and 17 after Stabler was sacked for a loss on second down.

The next play turned the game around. Stabler threw incomplete, which would have made it fourth and 17 with only 52 seconds left. However, referee Ben Dreith thew his flag on Patriot DT Ray Hamilton for roughing the passer. That gave Oakland a first down on the 13.

"There was no way that was roughing the passer," said Hamilton. "I tried to hit the ball when he was throwing it because I was so close to him. I actually tipped the ball, which takes away any penalty. Sure, I came into him, but it wasn't any roughing penalty."

The final 13 yards were filled with more penalties against the Patriots. Raider RB Clarence Davis ran 6y to the seven. On the next snap, New England was hit with a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct (arguing with the officials?) to put the ball on the one with just 12 seconds left.

"I called a pass-run option," said Stabler. "I wanted to throw to Casper, but he got caught up at the line of scrimmage, so I had to run with it."

Stabler barely fell over the goal line to give the Raiders a berth in the AFC championship game for the fourth year in a row and the seventh time overall.

As always, Stabler was cool as a cucumber. "My job calls for pressure, and if you can't stand the pressure, you better get into another business."

"It's ironic," said smiling Raiders coach John Madden, "that we win with our quarterback running when all the talk before the game was the way their quarterback could run. But I'm not taking anything away from Steve Grogan or the Patriots. Grogan played great, and so did their whole football team."

The Patriots were upset about the five penalties called on them during Oakland's winning drive.

"The best team lost here today," said OT Tom Neville. "We know it, and they know it."

"We were cheated out of the game," said DE Julius Adams. "We had them beat, and the officials started throwing the flags for them and took control of the game away from us."

Patriots President Bill Sullivan: "It's one thing to get beat. It's another to get robbed. That's the worst I've ever seen."

Some New England assistant coaches shouted obscenities at the officials as they came up the runway to the dressing rooms in the Oakland Coliseum.