FLASH RECAP:
Rich Gannon throws for 352 yards and three touchdowns to propel Oakland (5-4) past Denver (6-3) before an announced crowd of 76,643 at Invesco Field at Mile High on Nov. 11, 2002. Gannon completes 34 of 38 passes, including a league-record 21 in a row, as the Raiders snap a four-game losing streak and beat the Broncos in Denver for the first time since 1994.
Oakland's Jerry Rice, who has nine catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns, sets two milestones in the 500th regular-season game of "Monday Night Football." The former 49ers' great becomes the first NFL player with 200 career touchdowns on a 6-yard scoring catch late in the second quarter. With a 34-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter, Rice sets the league record for all-purpose yards with 21,817 yards, 13 more than Walter Payton.
Raiders free safety Rod Woodson returns a Brian Griese interception 98 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter to give the visitors a 10-0 advantage. Woodson extends his NFL record of 12 interceptions returned for touchdowns.
Oakland's maligned defense has four sacks, allows only 77 yards rushing and surrenders one touchdown (a 1-yard run by Clinton Portis). The Raiders also snap Brian Griese's league-high streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass at 23.
Broncos coach Mike Shanahan loses to the Raiders for only the third time in 15 regular-season games.
PRIME-TIME PLAYERS:
QB Rich Gannon - Completes 34 of 38 passes for 352 yards and three touchdowns for an astounding quarterback rating of 131.6. He completes 16 of 17 passes for 166 yards and one touchdown in the first half as the Raiders build a 21-7 advantage.
WR Jerry Rice - Has nine catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns. Rice burns Broncos CB Deltha O'Neal on a 34-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter to put an exclamation point on the Raiders' dominating performance.
FS Rod Woodson - Returns an interception 98 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter to thwart a Broncos drive and give the Raiders a 10-0 advantage.
LB Eric Barton - Has 12 total tackles (10 solo) and one of four Oakland sacks of Denver's Brian Griese.
OT Lincoln Kennedy - Wins his mano-on-mano duel with Denver Pro Bowl DE Treyor Pryce. Pryce, who enters the game tied for the AFC lead with seven sacks, has only three tackles.
K Sebastian Janikowski - Makes both field goal attempts (from 47 & 32 yards) and puts four of seven kickoffs in the end zone.
QB Brian Griese - Completes 34 of 47 passes for 293 yards, but his interception is a killer.
WR Rod Smith - Despite eight catches for 72 yards, he has no impact on the outcome. In two games against Oakland last season, Smith had 18 catches for 147 yards and three touchdowns.
LB Ian Gold - Contributes 10 solo tackles and Denver's only sack of Rich Gannon.
KEY STAT:
Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon completes 21 straight passes, breaking the previous NFL single-game record of 20 shared by Cincinnati's Ken Anderson (1983) and San Francisco's Steve Young (1996).
GOAT:
Broncos coach Mike Shanahan. With a chance to claim sole possession of first place in the AFC West, the Broncos are embarrassed at home by a hated rival. Shanahan is clearly out-coached by Raiders counterpart Bill Callahan. Denver never stops the Rich Gannon-led Oakland offense, and the Broncos' potent offense scores only one touchdown against the 24th-ranked Raiders defense.
TURNING POINT:
Raiders free safety Rod Woodson intercepts a Brian Griese pass and returns it 98 yards for a touchdown, increasing Oakland's lead to 10-0 with 2:57 remaining in the first quarter.
BY THE NUMBERS:
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5: Consecutive field goals by Oakland's Sebastian Janikowski the past three games.
21: Consecutive pass completions by the Raiders' Rich Gannon, an NFL single-game record.
68: Combined pass completions by the Raiders' Rich Gannon and the Broncos' Brian Griese.
77: Yards rushing allowed by Oakland, which had surrendered an average of 155.0 yards rushing the previous four games.
THEY SAID IT:
Raiders CB Charles Woodson
"You hear all the time about how we can never win in Denver, that it's a curse. We wanted to show we could win here and also get back on track. What a great stepping stone."
"I have to give the Raiders a lot of credit. They had their backs against the wall and came into our backyard and kind of kicked us all over the field."
Broncos coach Mike Shanahan
DID YOU KNOW?:
With his 65th career interception, the Raiders' Rod Woodson ties Ken Riley for fourth place on the all-time list.
The Raiders' Jerry Rice and teammates
celebrate Rice's 200th career touchdown.
By Associated Press
