Heroic Holton
Johnny Holton stood in a far corner of the Raiders locker room wearing a colorful jean jacket emblazoned with numerous stitched-on patches and logos. As a crowd of reporters closed in, Holton adjusted the gold necklace draped around his neck, took a deep breath then turned around to face the spotlight.
Only moments earlier the second-year wide receiver hauled in the deciding touchdown in the team’s 24-17 win over the New York Giants that, at least temporarily, slipped the Raiders into a three-way tie atop the AFC West.
In that same game Holton made a spectacular sideline catch to set up a short touchdown run by DeAndre Washington, a play that is easily among the top three this season by any Oakland receiver in terms of style points and brilliance. Two plays before his touchdown, Holton also threw a key block that helped spring Cordarrelle Patterson for a 59-yard gain.
All three plays were instrumental in the Raiders Week 13 win, particularly because they came when Michael Crabtree was at home serving a one-game NFL suspension and Amari Cooper was unavailable as a result of a concussion and ankle injury.
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