--RB Michael Bush, who rushed for 177 yards on 27 carries and scored two touchdowns, including a 67-yard run that gave the Raiders the lead for the last time, hopes to have put his days as a fullback behind him.
With Oren O'Neal and Justin Griffith lost for season with injuries, Bush saw some time at fullback and mostly resisted it.
"I hope I proved a lot by running the ball, but at the same time I feel like I did a good job in the preseason when I had a chance to," Bush said. "But you never know. This year we had a lot of injuries at the fullback position, but hopefully I'll just shy away from that."
Said coach Tom Cable: "You have to understand -- we didn't have any fullbacks. Our top two guys were hurt and out for the season. ... What the future holds for (Bush), we'll see. But it's nice to have a guy who can do both, and certainly he can do both."
--QB JaMarcus Russell shook off an interception that was returned 85 yards by Sabby Piscitelli to set up a touchdown, and he had a second strong game to close the season.
Russell engineered Oakland's first successful two-minute drill at the end of the first half, throwing a 3-yard touchdown pass to Chaz Schilens, and later had a 12-yard touchdown to Johnnie Lee Higgins.
"We pulled together deep inside ourselves and kept fighting," Russell said. "Eight weeks ago, I don't think it would have happened. We went in the right direction as a team."
Cable was most impressed by Russell's demeanor in the face of Tampa Bay's 10-point lead.
"When we got down by 10, the first thing he did was back out of the huddle and say, 'Hey, we got this. Everybody just chill out,'" coach Tom Cable said.
--RB Justin Fargas was one of a number of players who would like to see coach Tom Cable return.
"He didn't let us settle for less," Fargas said. "That was evident in the way we played in the last two games. I'd like to see him come back. He has a lot to offer this team, and it would be good to give him a full season and see what he can do with it."
