ALAMEDA, Calif. -- A day of extra work and plenty of time sitting home watching highlights were enough for Oakland Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski to regain his sense of humor after missing a potential winning field goal against Arizona.
As reporters approached him Wednesday to ask what had gone wrong on his rough day, Janikowski immediately pointed his finger at the player sitting next to him in the locker room, jokingly blaming Shane Lechler for a bad hold.
"I was disappointed -- I mean shocked," he said. "It happens. I can't change anything. Going into warmups, I was 20 for 20, with 63-yarders both way. And you go in the game, you feel so good about it: 'Ah, I can make any kick.' And this thing happens. So you've just got to move on. Next page."
Janikowski doesn't have much experience moving on from a game quite like this. It was only the fourth time in 11 NFL seasons -- and the first since the 2007 opener -- he has missed three field goals in a game.
He said this game was similar to one late in the 2001 season, in which he also missed three kicks, including a 41-yarder in the closing seconds of a 13-10 loss at Tennessee.
Despite how hard Janikowski took the misses, his teammates never questioned him, and coaches and players pointed out all the other mistakes that would have made the final kick moot.
"It's nice to know that I've got guys behind me," Janikowski said. "I got to apologize to everybody -- Al Davis, the players, the fans. So, you know, come this weekend, kick a winner."
Janikowski's bad day started from the opening kickoff, when he was unable to bring down LaRod Stephens-Howling as he raced 102 yards for a touchdown. Janikowski then sent a 41-yarder wide right in the third quarter with the Raiders leading by three and a 58-yarder wide right in the fourth quarter with Oakland down, 24-23.
The Raiders were in position to win it again on the final play, but Janikowski pushed the 32-yarder wide left, then held his head in disgust.
Janikowski said he didn't believe the first two misses contributed to the third. It was his shortest miss since late in the 2006 season.
"No, because you look at the 58-yarder, and I still hooked it a little bit," he said. "So, going to the winning field goal, I was like, 'Open up your hips and just think smooth.' And it just sailed on me, wide left."
Janikowski has missed five field goals in the Raiders' first three games, with another negated by an offside penalty against Tennessee in the opener. His three misses from inside 50 yards are as many as he had the past two seasons combined.
This all comes after the Raiders in the offseason gave Janikowski the most lucrative contract ever for a kicker, a four-year, $16 million deal with $9 million guaranteed.
"I kicked a lot of balls on Monday," Janikowski said. "I mean, I watched film for like an hour-and-a-half, and it just seems like I didn't finish my kicks, I didn't go through it. I was just kind of like a 3-iron, just punch it, and I stopped it. Yeah, I think I'm going to be all right."
Notes: The Raiders had a lengthy injury list with 10 players missing practice and four limited. The most notable were DTs Richard Seymour (hamstring) and John Henderson (foot), WR Louis Murphy (collarbone) and OL Robert Gallery (hamstring). ... Coach Tom Cable said WR Chaz Schilens is making progress from a knee injury that has sidelined him since training camp. ... The Raiders signed LB Alex Joseph to the practice squad.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
