Allen Was Great for Raiders and Chiefs

As the Las Vegas Raiders (5-6) prepare to host the Kansas City Chiefs (7-3), we reflect on Marcus Allen, an ICON for both franchises.

The Las Vegas-Oakland-Los Angeles Raiders have had several players who also were members of the arch-rival Kansas City Chiefs, who the Silver and Black will host on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Among them have been quarterbacks Cotton Davidson, Rich Gannon, and Tom Flores, who later coached the Raiders to two Super Bowl victories, defensive end John Matuszak; defensive tackles Tom Keating and Chester McGlockton, center Rodney Hudson; tight end Ethan Horton; running back Clem Daniels and defensive backs Dave Grayson, Albert Lewis and Marcus Peters.

However, the best player to wear the Silver and Black, plus the Red and Gold, was Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen.

As the Las Vegas Raiders (5-6) prepare to host the Kansas City Chiefs (7-3), we reflect on Marcus Allen, an ICON for both franchises / © Stephen R. Sylvanie | 2022 Dec 4

“Marcus Allen played 11 years with the Raiders, making the Pro Bowl five times and earning NFL MVP honors in 1985 after tallying 2,314 total yards from scrimmage,” wrote Barry Warner of the Touchdown Wire when Allen was selected as the Raiders’ greatest running back ever in 2020. “He led the Raiders to victory in Super Bowl XVIII and was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003. While Allen’s usage was sporadic after the 1985 season, he was a valuable receiver and blocker for the Raiders, as well.”

The 6-2, 210-pound Allen was drafted by the Raiders with the 10th overall pick of the 1982 NFL Draft after a brilliant career at USC, after he was awarded the 1981 Heisman Trophy, even though there was a feeling in some quarters around the league that he wasn’t fast enough to be a great back as a pro.

Boy, did he prove the doubters wrong?

In his strike-shortened rookie season, Allen rushed for 697 yards and 11 touchdowns on 160 carries, a 4.4-yard average, in addition to catching 38 passes for 401 yards and three scores en route to being named 1982 NFL Rookie of the Year as the Raiders went 8-1.

Allen rushed for 1,014 yards and nine touchdowns in his first full season, 1,168 yards and 13 scores in the next, and a career-high 1,759 yards and 11 TDs in 1985. During those three years, he also caught 68 passes for 590 yards and two touchdowns, 64 passes for 758 yards and five scores, and 67 passes for 555 yards and three.

During the Raiders’ 38-9 rout of the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII on Jan. 22, 1984, Allen ran for 191 yards, caught two passes for 18 yards, and scored two touchdowns, one on a brilliant 74-yard touchdown run and was selected at the game’s Most Valuable Player.

Allen split the running back duties with Bo Jackson from 1987 to 1990, showing his outstanding blocking ability, before he eventually left the Raiders in 1993 after a well-publicized feud with Raiders owner Al Davis and played his last five seasons with the arch-rival Kansas City Chiefs.

In 11 seasons with the Raiders, Allen amassed 13,060 yards from scrimmage.

“I think (Davis) tried to ruin the latter part of my career, tried to devalue me,” Allen told Al Michaels in a taped interview on Monday Night Football during the 1992 season. “He's trying to stop me from going to the Hall of Fame. They don’t want me to play.”

Allen still is the Raiders’ all-time leading rusher and scorer on the ground with 8,545 yards rushing and 79 touchdowns in those 11 seasons while catching 446 passes for 4,258 yards and 21 more scores, with his 98 touchdowns ranking second behind wide receiver Tim Brown’s 104.

In 1993, Allen signed as a free agent with the Chiefs, and in his five seasons in Kansas City, he rushed for 3,698 yards and 44 touchdowns to finish his career with 12,243 yards on the ground and 123 scores. He added 141 receptions for 1,153 yards and three scores with the Chiefs to wind up with 587 catches for 5,411 yards and 24 touchdowns.

In addition to being the 1982 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, Allen was the NFL Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year in 1985, the NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 1993, was a three-time All-Pro and a six-time Pro Bowl selection.

Davis and Allen eventually overcame their differences, and before a 2012 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Allen lit the Al Davis Memorial Flame at the Oakland Coliseum.

The Silver and Black will return home this week to celebrate Thanksgiving and take on their AFC West rival, the Kansas City Chiefs, on Sunday, November 26, at 4:25 p.m. EST/1:25 p.m. PST.

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