Hoping to rebound from their divisional road loss to the Packers, the Vikings' Week 11 opponent was the Oakland Raiders, who had former Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper under center. After a 79-yard pass from wide receiver Sidney Rice to Visanthe Shiancoe on the first play from scrimmage, the Vikings scored on the very next play on a 10-yard run from Chester Taylor. This was followed by a safety when Culpepper was penalized for intentional grounding in his own endzone. Two plays after the ensuing free kick, the Vikings fumbled the ball just inside Oakland territory, allowing the Raiders to set up a 42-yard field goal for Sebastian Janikowski. On the next drive, the Vikings restored their nine-point lead as kicker Ryan Longwell hit a 30-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter. A short Oakland drive culminating in 10-yard touchdown pass from Culpepper to tight end John Madsen, followed by another Janikowski field goal, saw the Raiders take the lead for the first time. Four plays later, Minnesota regained a six-point lead on a 38-yard touchdown run from Taylor, but field goals of 42 and 49 yards from Janikowski meant the first half ended with the scores level at 19-19. The Vikings recorded the only score of the third quarter on a 38-yard field goal from Longwell, though they did finish the period on the Raiders' 6-yard line, allowing Taylor to run in his third touchdown on the opening play of the fourth quarter, the first time in his career that he scored three touchdowns in one game. A 52-yard field goal from Janikowski narrowed the margin to 7 points with less than three-and-a-half minutes to play, and after forcing the Vikings to punt just inside the two-minute warning, they had one last chance to level the scores. On the first play of the drive, Culpepper threw the ball in the direction of Justin Fargas, who tipped it up, allowing Chad Greenway to come up with an interception; he went to ground with the ball, but inexplicably got up and attempted to advance it, which allowed left tackle Barry Sims to force a fumble, recovered by right guard Paul McQuistan. That enabled the Raiders to extend their drive, but although they managed to get into Vikings territory, a false start penalty meant Culpepper had to attempt a Hail Mary pass on the final play, but it came up short, giving the Vikings a 29-22 win.
Was Culpepper playing for the Vikings or the Raiders during this game?
Raiders