Raiders 33, 49ers 30

No matter how much they're asked, Rich Gannon and Kerry Collins insist there's no quarterbacks competition on the Oakland Raiders.

And new coach Norv Turner again made it clear Gannon's his No. 1 guy.

Gannon came out throwing in his first game back from shoulder surgery and looked like his old self Saturday. But Collins, his strong-armed backup, was the one who got the Raiders into the end zone in their 33-30 win over the San Francisco 49ers in the exhibition opener for both teams Saturday night.

``It's a competition from the standpoint we're trying to beat the other team, and that's it,'' Collins said. ``My approach is to do the best I can do regardless of the situation. I thought Rich played really well tonight. I don't worry about it. I really want to take advantage of the preseason and a chance to play and run the offense. This is my time to work on things.''

Gannon was 9-for-15 for 69 yards, with his longest completion a 16-yarder to Amos Zereoue.

Gannon completed seven of 12 passes in the Raiders' opening drive that led to Sebastian Janikowski's 26-yard field goal - the first of his four field goals, including a 21-yarder to break a 27-27 tie with 6:28 remaining, and the winning kick from 40 yards as time expired.

Kirk Yliniemi kicked a 38-yard field goal with 1:53 left to tie it at 30.

Gannon, the 2002 NFL MVP, was knocked out of the Raiders' 17-10 loss to Kansas City last Oct. 20 and had shoulder surgery in November.

``It went well,'' Gannon said Saturday. ``I thought we put together some good plays. We'll get a chance to look at it on film and make the corrections and hopefully get better next week.''

Collins directed an eight-play, 80-yard scoring drive in the second quarter, capped by a pretty 34-yard pass along the left sideline to Doug Gabriel.

The 31-year-old Collins led the Giants to a Super Bowl appearance in 2001, but was cut this April 28, four days after New York acquired No. 1 draft pick Eli Manning. Some believe Collins, who threw for 3,110 yards with 13 touchdowns and 16 interceptions last season, might take the starting job from the 38-year-old Gannon.

Janikowski kicked a 46-yard field goal as the first half expired. Tyrone Wheatley, the featured back in Turner's offense, rushed for 33 yards on five carries, with one 18-yard run.

``We have a lot of things we can work on, get a handle on. A lot of things we can fix and correct,'' Turner said.

The Raiders were penalized 21 times for 215 yards, including an unsportsmanlike call against tight end Teyo Johnson. He caught a 36-yard pass from Marques Tuiasosopo, then did two push-ups over the defender he beat.

``I didn't know the guy was under me - I feel horrible about it,'' Johnson said. ``It could have cost us the game.''

Tuiasosopo, Oakland's No. 3 QB, hit rookie Carlos Francis for a 36-yard TD to put the Raiders ahead 20-13 in the third quarter. The Niners tied it when Arnaz Battle scored on a 61-yard punt return, but that lasted just 11 seconds because Francis ran the kickoff 87 yards for a score.

The 49ers tied it again on Cody Pickett's 21-yard TD pass to Gabe Crecion with 9:30 left. Tuiasosopo and Pickett are both former University of Washington quarterbacks.

Ken Dorsey, the 49ers' starting quarterback in place of injured Tim Rattay (sore forearm), led San Francisco on a 67-yard scoring drive in the team's first offensive series. But the Niners settled for Todd Peterson's 26-yard field goal.

``We've got to be able to finish,'' coach Dennis Erickson said. ``We've got to be able to get touchdowns instead of field goals.''

Peterson's second field goal of the game, a 25-yarder, was set up by Dorsey's 31-yard completion to Eric Johnson.

``It was a good start,'' Dorsey said. ``It's a lot faster and more intense. It's a lot different from what I'm used to. As the game went on, I had more confidence.''

Terry Jackson's 7-yard run for San Francisco tied the game at 13 in the third quarter.

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