yre one of the best teams Ive seen in a long time. Area

OAKLAND, Calif. - All that stood between the Buffalo Bills and a meaningful Week 17 game with a playoff bid on the line were the lowly two-win Oakland Raiders.After a quick start, the Bills fell flat and now must ponder a 15th straight season without a post-season berth.Derek Carr threw two touchdown passes and Sebastian Janikowski kicked four field goals to help the Raiders knock the Bills from playoff contention with a 26-24 victory Sunday.When youve gone this long and youre right there with a chance, and you put it all on the line and you dont come through, it hurts, Bills quarterback Kyle Orton said.The Bills (8-7) needed to win their final two games and get some help to end the NFLs longest active playoff drought at 14 seasons. But they failed at the easiest part — beating the Raiders — and will miss the playoffs once again.Dreams get crushed. Nightmare, running back C.J. Spiller said.Oakland has the second longest active post-season drought at 12 but has done a good job of playing spoiler in the past five weeks, beating Kansas City, San Francisco and Buffalo after starting the season 0-10.I cant say enough good things about this team, interim coach Tony Sparano said. I love the guys in that locker room. Theyre fighters. Anytime somebody counts them out they bounce back. Its a great sign of character.The Bills came into the game vowing not to overlook the two-win Raiders. But Orton struggled after an early touchdown pass to Sammy Watkins, throwing an interception and posting five straight three-and-outs on Buffalos next six possessions to put the Bills in a hole they never could overcome.The Bills ran for just 13 yards despite Spillers return from a broken collarbone. That was their worst rushing day since gaining 4 yards against Tennessee on Nov. 23, 1997.At the end of the day, they got after us up front and they kicked our butt up front, coach Doug Marrone said. When you do that, its difficult to run, pass, do a lot of things.Instead of having a playoff berth possibly on the line next week in New England, the Bills can start looking ahead to next season and figuring out what to do at quarterback. Orton failed to get Buffalo over the hump after replacing ineffective second-year player EJ Manuel.Orton went 32 for 49 for 329 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.Carr wasnt that sharp, completing just 17 of 34 passes for 214 yards, but the rookie did what Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers couldnt: throw a touchdown pass against Buffalos stout defence.He tied the game with a scoring throw to James Jones in the second quarter and then sealed it with a 1-yarder to Jamize Olawale with 2:51 to go.You see what that defence did to the best quarterbacks in the league, Carr said. When you turn the film on and see what theyre doing you know its going to be tough. At the start it sure was tough.That came after Oakland stopped Buffalo on a third-and-1 near midfield when Ray-Ray Armstrong deflected a pass to Chris Hogan and Carr converted a third-and-22 with a 51-yard pass to Andre Holmes.Darren McFadden then ran it 25 yards down to the 1, and Carr hit Olawale two plays later to seal Buffalos fate.After Janikowski missed a 48-yard field goal attempt, Orton threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Robert Woods with 1:09 to play to cut it to 26-24. But Woodson recovered the ensuing onside kick to end it.The Raiders got a pair of field goals from Janikowski in the third quarter to take a 19-10 lead, but the Bills managed to stay within striking distance by keeping Oakland out of the end zone.Buffalo then got right back into it on the opening play of the fourth quarter when Orton connected on a 29-yard touchdown pass to Scott Chandler to make it 19-17.But that was as close as it would get.NOTES: The 13 yards rushing allowed by the Raiders were tied for their third-fewest since the merger. ... Bills DT Marcell Dareus (knee) and CB Stephon Gilmore (concussion) left the game with injuries.___Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Eddie George Titans Jersey . They actually finished with a better record in ‘07 than they did in ‘06 but only marginally, going from 61 victories to 66. Kevin Byard Youth Jersey .com) - Bayern Munich winger Xherdan Shaqiri is expected to miss the next two weeks because of a thigh injury. http://www.titansstoreonline.com/Black-64-Corey-Davis-Womens-Jersey/ . - Quarterback Brady Quinn says he has been released by the Miami Dolphins. Earl Campbell Titans Jersey . INJURIES - Cardinals 1B Matt Adams has been put on the DL with calf tightness, resulting in some lineup shifting, with Allen Craig moving from right field to first base, so that the Cardinals could bring up top prospect Oscar Taveras, who was the No. Warren Moon Youth Jersey . In the other Group A game, the Czech Republic stunned Canada, 5-4 in a shootout. Dominik Simon scored the deciding goal in the tiebreaker. The United States scored its first three goals on power plays. "Overall, I love to see the power-play goals we were able to get tonight," said U.LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Kings are a mountain to climb, and the size of the challenge comes home the closer you get. The New York Rangers finally had a first-hand look in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final, mounting an early assault before Los Angeles knocked them back to win 3-2 in overtime. Asked to compare the physicality of the well-drilled Kings to the three teams the Rangers have beaten in the playoffs to date, New York coach Alain Vigneault neatly summed up the challenge before the Blueshirts. "Philly was a physical team and they played on the edge," he said. "Pittsburgh played more of a skill game, but they also had quite a few players that played on the edge. Montreal was a real structured team. So they were three different opponents. "This one here is structured. Theyve got skill. Theyre physical. So makes it a pretty big challenge." You can add battle-hardened to that list. In the dog-eat-dog Western Conference, the Kings have come to the final the long way. They have had to run the gauntlet of San Jose, Anaheim and Chicago -- teams that finished 15, 20 and 11 points, respectively, ahead of New York in the regular season. And they did it without home-ice advantage. "Were a team thats just never going to go away," said Los Angeles forward Kyle Clifford. "Doesnt matter what the score is, were going to play our hardest and do what we do best." The Kings, who clawed their way back to dominate the second half of Wednesdays game, have already given the Rangers plenty to chew on. The New Yorkers, nestled in a five-star cubbyhole on the beach, had the day off Thursday to ponder the challenge. "To be able to be away from the game is a good thing, but at the same time I think if you ask every guy on our team, where were at mentally right now is were at the rink still," said forward Derek Stepan. "Guys are evaluating their own games, getting ready to make adjustments and get ourselves ready for Game 2." That comes Saturday, and Vigneault wasted little time challenging his players to up their game this time. "One thing is real evident to me, and it should be to our whole group, is were not going to beat this team if we do not all bring our A game," Vigneault said. "It is that strong of an opponent that were playing against. "We had Hank (goalie Henrik Lundqvist) that brought his A game last night. We had a couple guys. I dont want to name who, I think brought their A game. But our B game wont do it. Were not goingg to win if we bring our B game to the table.dddddddddddd "Theyre one of the best teams Ive seen in a long time. Areas to exploit, they dont jump out at you. Were going to have to be better than we were." Unlike in the Eastern Conference final series against Montreal, where Vigneault and Habs coach Michel Therrien poked and prodded each other verbally, Vigneault has been all business so far in the final. He seems to be staring at the Kings, like a career bank robber pondering how to take down a state-of-the-art safe. The Rangers coach says his team knew going into the series what was needed to win. "Its something that we discussed -- how good the opponent was. And thats a challenge. At this time of the year to win, you got to bring your A game. Thats each and every player. When we played Game 6 against Montreal, each and every player brought his A game. Its not an easy thing to do. But against this opponent, I do believe our expectations are to win, (weve) got to find a way to do it." Vigneault is no strangers to the challenge, having crossed paths with the Kings many times during his years as coach of the Canucks. "They were a good team in the years past," he said. "Theyre a real good team now. Theyve obviously got more experience. They play their game plan to a T and they dont deviate in any shape, way, or form so that makes it real challenging for the opposition." Captain Dustin Brown says part of the secret of the Kings success is their familiarity. "For our team, its just a result of us being together for a long time. I think that goes a longer ways than most people think," he said. "When it gets really hard, really tough, you know the guy next to you very well. You know what hes going to do in those types of situations." Worrying for the Rangers is the fact the Kings, who fell behind 2-0 in the first period only to rally and outshoot New York 20-3 in the third, can be better. Los Angeles coach Darryl Sutter acknowledged his team was sluggish following the quick turnaround from the gruelling series with Chicago. "Guys are not machines," he told a media availability at a hotel adjacent to their practice facility. "We can play a lot better," he added. "Its way better when youre not chasing the lead." Sutter did his bit to inject some life into his team, changing up the lines in the first period as soon as he saw some players did not have their legs under them. The Kings also had an off-day Thursday. ' ' '