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Nfl

Raiders take full command of AFC West

OAKLAND, Calif. - Tim Brown was around for Oakland's years of futility against the Broncos. When the Raiders finally got the best of their archrivals, the veteran receiver led the way.

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times,
published November 6, 2001

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Tim Brown was around for Oakland's years of futility against the Broncos. When the Raiders finally got the best of their archrivals, the veteran receiver led the way.

Brown caught two touchdowns as the Raiders emphatically snapped a seven-game losing streak to Denver, beating the Broncos 38-28 on Monday night to affirm the westward shift of power in the AFC West.

The Raiders won the division last season but lost twice to Denver. They had lost 11 of their past 12 meetings with the Broncos and coach Mike Shanahan, who has taken extra pleasure in repeatedly beating the team that fired him more than a decade ago.

Jon Gruden, snarling and screaming on the sideline, got his first victory over Denver with a game plan that made ample use of Brown and Jerry Rice, his veteran receivers. With the Raider Nation roaring its approval in a packed Coliseum, Oakland won its ninth straight regular-season home game.

With two scores among his nine catches for 95 yards, Brown passed Don Maynard for fifth on the career list with 89 touchdowns receiving. Brown and Rich Gannon communicated almost flawlessly during several lengthy scoring drives that broke down Denver's defense.

"We just thought that if they played a regular defense, we could do some things," Brown said. "They didn't really come up and challenge us, so in that situation, I win."

Zack Crockett rushed for two scores, including a 3-yard plunge with 7:06 to play, and Rice caught three key passes for 47 yards. Gannon was 25-of-34 for 243 yards and three touchdowns.

The bad feelings between the franchises trickled down to the field. Denver's Kenoy Kennedy and Oakland's Greg Biekert delivered hard hits on the borderline of legality, and Denver's Bill Romanowski and Oakland's William Thomas got personal fouls for nasty blows.

In their first home game in more than four weeks, the Raiders (6-1) won their fifth in a row and matched the Rams and Bears for the NFL's best record.

The Broncos couldn't capitalize on the running of former MVP Terrell Davis, who looked sharp in his return after missing six games following knee surgery. Davis rushed for 70 yards on 17 attempts, and Rod Smith caught 10 passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns.

Brian Griese shrugged off his balky shoulder to go 22-of-32 for 221 yards, but he threw two fourth-quarter interceptions that helped Oakland clinch the win.

Oakland opened the game with a 75-yard drive that ended on Brown's 11-yard touchdown catch. Oakland held the Broncos to two early field goals by Jason Elam, who became the 30th player to score 1,000 points.

The Raiders went up 14-6 on Crockett's 1-yard run at the end of another long drive. Gannon, who briefly left the game after a questionable hit from Kennedy, completed six straight passes on another drive that ended with Jon Ritchie's 4-yard touchdown catch shortly before halftime.

"We hung in there, we battled and we made some big plays in the passing game, and that helped us out," Gannon said. "We really hurt them with some big passes."

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