– Denver had a third-and-3 at the Oakland 24 in a game that was taking
on the look of a shootout as the Broncos drove from their own 30 with
the help of Tim Tebow’s 15-yard run on a read option to his left and a
17-yard swing pass to Correll Buckhalter against Rolando McClain.
– Darren McFadden’s 36-yard run to the 2-yard line set up an eventual
1-yard touchdown run by Michael Bush with 3:20 left in the quarter as
the Raiders tied the score 14-14. It capped a 69-yard drive in eight
plays. McFadden had 56 yards rushingon the drive and 72 yards on seven
carries at that point.
– Tebow let loose with a pass into the end zone on second-and-12 that
went through the hands of Stanford Routt and was caught by Brandon Lloyd
in the end zone, apparently out of bounds. The Broncos challenged the
ruling and officials ruled Lloyd had maintained possession and caught
the ball for a touchdown.
Great concentration by Lloyd, whose rear-end looked to be on the ground
when he had possession. It’s not an issue if Routt knocks the ball down
or catches it.
– Raiders get tricky on second-and-10 and it backfires, Darren McFadden
is trying to pitch to Jacoby Ford on a reverse and fumbles ball away to
Broncos, who take over on Oakland 32.
– Darren McFadden went over 1,000 yards for the season with consecutive
carries of eight and 11 yards on Raiders third possession.
– Following the Oakland turnover, Tebow ran up the middle for a 40-yard
run on third-and-24 to tie the score 7-7. A 26-yard in two plays, as the
Broncos pushed themslelves backward with a facemaks by Knowshon Moreno
on a running play.
– Denver’s Kevin Vickerson makes a leaping interception at the line of
scrimmage on a pass intended for Zach Miller. Not the kind of play
normally associated with a 6-foot-5, 321-pound defensive lineman.
– Michael Huff’s blitz makes Tebow throw a third-and-9 pass way out of
bounds. Denver has three-and-outs on their first two possssions. Crowd
is chanting “Tebow sucks.”
– A Denver three-and-out followed by Jacoby Ford’s 71-yard run with
sweep to his right.
– Oakland opened at its own 29 after a poor 30-yard punt by Britton
Colquitt because Thomas Howard was called for holding on a punt Nick
Miller wasn’t even attempting to return.
– Rolando McClain dropped Knowshon Moreno with a nice hit on the second
play from scrimmage on a direct snap from center. Tebow’s first pass as
a starter was incomplete as Denver went three-and-out on its first
possession.
Second quarter notes
– Oakland went into halftime without the services of its two Pro
Bowlers, cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and punter Shane Lechler, as well as
right tackle Langston Walker. Mario Henderson moved in as the right tackle.
– Oakland was pinned at its own 8 with 3:48 left after a 48-yard Britton
Colquitt punt and a hit on Nick Miller as the rain began to fall fairly
heavily.
The Raiders went three-and-out and Sebastian Janikowski went back to
punt as Lechler was being worked on by trainers. Syd’Quan Thompson
fumbled Janikowski’s low line drive _ a 31-yard punt _ and it was
recovered by Hiram Eugene at the 46-yar dline.
Janikowski hit a 49-yard field goal with 1:03 left in the half to tie
the score at 17, with Jason Campbell’s 20-yard scramble the big play in
a 23-yard, five-play drive.
Lechler served as the holder after Kyle Boller took a few practice snaps
from Jon Condo on the sideline.
– Henderson replaced Walker at right tackle with 8:09 left in the half
as the Raiders took possession at their own 20-yard line following a
Denver punt.
Campbell found Darrius Heyward-Bey for a 21-yard leaping catch on the
sideline, but the Raiders ended up punting in part because of a 4-yard
loss ty McFadden, who was hit by Robert Ayers after getting through Zach
Miller.
– Campbell’s interception under pressure, returned 37 yards by Renaldo
Hill, came after Oakland lost a 30-yard touchdown pass to Zach Miller
because of an illegal formation penalty.
Walker was taken out by Kevin Vickerson on the interception return and
had to be helped from the field.
– As the second quarter opened, the Broncos went from a third-and-3 to a
third-and-8 on a false start by Chris Cooper, with Tebow getting stopped
for two yards while attempting to run the middle out of the shotgun. He
slipped on his initial charge, but the field is holding up well with the
rain holding off.
Steven Hauschka put Denver up 17-14 with 14:09 left in the half with a
46-yard field goal. It was a 42-yard, eight-play drive for Denver.
Third quarter notes
– The quarter ended with the Broncos facing a third-and-6 at the their
own 40 following a false start on third-and-1.
– Sebastian Janikowski hit a 47-yard field goal with 1:29 left in the
quarter after an Oakland drive stalled at the Denver 29-yard line after
three straight Michael Bush carries for 7, 1 and 1 yards failed to net a
first down.
The Raiders had gotten into scoring range on a deep cross from Jason
Campbell to Jacoby Ford against Andre Goodman for 25 yards to the
38-yard line.
– Steven Hauschka tied the score 20-20 with a 35-yard field goal with
5:03 left, capping a 43-yard drive during which the biggest play was a
24-yard pass interference penalty on Stanford Routt, who failed to turn
around on a pass from Tim Tebow. Tebow also hit Lloyd with a 20-yard
sideline pass against Routt.
Richard Seymour left the game and went to the locker room during the drive.
– Nick Miller fielded Britton Colquitt’s 56-yard punt, found room to his
right and raced 22 yards, getting an additional 15 to the 24-yard line
after a Denver facemask.
The Raiders got only three points out of the field position when
Janikowski kicked a 35-yard field goal with 7:27 left in the third
quarter for a 20-17 Oakland lead.
On third-and-4 from the 18, Kyle Boller came in to the game after Jason
Campbell was hit on an intentional grounding call and left the field
injured. A Broncos roughing the passer call on the same play negated the
play, with offsetting penalties.
– Denver punted from its own end zone after the Raiders forced a
three-and-out starting at the 3 and ending in third-and-8 from the 5.
Rolando McClain brought down Buckhalter on third down with an initial
charge by Tommy Kelly.
– Oakland’s first possession of the second half included a 27-yard pass
from Campbell to Zach Miller but was soon derailed by a pair penalties _
a hold on Miller and an illegal hands to the face on Jared Veldheer.
Lechler punted the Broncos to the 6, with a penalty pushing Denver back
to the 3.
The Raiders kept their AFC West playoff hopes alive with a 39-23 win
over Tim Tebow and the Broncos Sunday. Jerry McDonald lost his internet
connection at the Coliseum, which is why he hasn’t posted an item
himself. He’s on his way to the locker room for post-game interviews
now, so look for his posts a bit later.
