and 111 yards on 19 rushes on December 19 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The players gelled as a unit and not only did Wheatley have his best seasons in Oakland, but also long time NFL veterans on the Raiders amassed their best season upon his arrival. For example, Rich Gannon, an NFL veteran quarterback since 1987, made his first four Pro Bowl appearances with Wheatley as a weapon. The team only compiled an 8–8 record, however. Wheatley had the best season of his career in the 2000 as the Raiders went 12–4 and reached the American Football Conference championship game of the 2000–01 NFL playoffs. Wheatley amassed 1,046 yards rushing and 9 touchdowns on 232 carries and added 20 receptions for 156 yards. Wheatley combined effectively with Kaufman to form an inside and outside attacking combination in these first two years. Wheatley’s 4.5 yards per carry ranked ninth in the NFL. Not only did Wheatley amass a career-high three 100-yard rushing games that season, but he also had his three highest career single-game performances: 156 yards on only 15 carries on October 22 at home against the Seattle Seahawks, 146 yards on December 16 at Seattle and 112 yards on November 5 against the Kansas City Chiefs. The 100-yard performances against Seattle were his second and third in his first four games against them as a Raider. In the playoffs, Wheatley only posted a total of 63 yards rushing on 31 carries and one reception for four yards in two home playoff games. On January 6, 2001, Wheatley posted what would turn out to be his career (seven career games) playoff high 56 yards rushing and his only playoff touchdown. In the January 14 conference championship against the Baltimore Ravens he only rushed for 7 yards on 12 carries. In 2001, with the arrival of Jerry Rice and Charlie Garner, the offense focused on the passing game, running five more pass attempts per game than the year before. The team produced two 1,000-yard receivers with Rice amassing 1,139 yards and Tim Brown totaling 1,165 yards. Garner led the team in rushing and accumulated 72 receptions. Meanwhile, Wheatley only started three games and accumulated only 12 receptions over the course of the season. For the first time as a Raider, Wheatley went an entire season without a 100-yard rushing game. The team went 10–6 and returned to the 2001–02 NFL