Another Big Win for the Raiders

After their first divisional win last week against the Chiefs, the Oakland Raiders had something to build on for their matchup with the Denver Broncos.

Josh McCown would get the start at QB due to Daunte Culpepper's injury during practice, trying to beat Stanford Routt in a 100 yard dash.

Anyone who watches the NFL knows that McCown has always been a decent second-string guy, playing only when called upon.

On Sunday, his big opportunity had arrived.

Josh McCown played with poise during the opening drive, standing in the pocket and making the right decisions, leading Oakland to their fist touchdown of the game with a 15-yard toss to Tim Dwight.

The Broncos took their time rushing behind Travis Henry and in the end handed it to him again for a four-yard TD.

At the end of the first quarter the score was 7-7.

Both teams' offenses would struggle for the next pair of drives, leading to what had to be the most inspirational moment for this years Raiders team.

JaMarcus Russell, the Raiders number one overall pick marched out onto the field with what seemed to be a large amount of confidence. Fans were on their feet screaming, waiting to get a glimpse of their future. Russell took his first snap in the NFL and completed a 16 yard pass to Jerry Porter on the sideline.

Russell would play two very encouraging drives in front of 69,100 Raider fans. He looked good, despite a missed hand-off and shotgun snap. He managed to finish 4-7, for 56 yards. One of his drives was stumped by the Denver defense, stopping Fargas on fourth and one.

McCown came back in to a hallowed stadium of boos, but that would quickly change. He took the team back down the field, making good judgment when passing the ball.  Fargas again looked unstoppable, pummeling his way up the field. With 50 seconds left in the half, McCown found Zach Miller in the endzone from 13 yards out.

At the half, the Raiders held a seven point lead.

The first dive of the third quarter was a lot of runs by Justin Fargas, followed by a Sebastian Janikowsi field goal from 38 yards making it a 17-7 ball game.

Then after a Travis Henry fumble, which was recovered by Oakland, the Raiders drove the length of the field. McCown connected on three big throws during the drive, one of which was a 13 yard TD toss to Porter who was all alone in the endzone. This completely changed the fans reactions to McCown. Oakland now led by 17.

That great drive was followed by two Jason Elam Field goals, from 29 and 44 yards out, closing the gap to 24-13.

After another short drive by Oakland, Denver had a chance to make it a four point game. With a large chunk of yards behind Travis Henry, the Broncos were able to march up field with a few big throws by Cutler, but even better plays by Brandon Marshall.

The final call was to Henry up the middle for a three-yard rushing TD, cutting the lead, 24-20.

The Raiders ensuing drive was decent, but only resulted in another Jankikowski field goal, this time from 44 yards. The Raiders were still on top, 27-20.

On what seemed to be the Broncos final chance in the game, Cutler threw his second interception to Fabian Washington, which led to another Raiders TD. Justin Fargas took it to the right side of the field from five yards out, with just over three minutes left.

Josh McCown finished the day 14-21 for 141 yards and three TDs. Fargas ended up with 33 rushes for 146 yards, 60 yards more than three Broncos rushers put together.

The Raiders won their second straight AFC West game, and they did it with power, taking them to record of 4-8, still mathematically in the race in the west.

Next week, the Raiders will take on the Packers, who are coming off they're biggest loss of the season. With these two teams in the matchup, it is sure to be a compelling game.