Mr. Comeback Engineers Another One

The king of comebacks did it again.

John Elway led the 33rd fourth-quarter, game-winning drive of his career Monday night, throwing a 49-yard touchdown pass to Rod Smith with 4:14 remaining to rally the visiting Denver Broncos to a 22-21 victory over the Oakland Raiders.

“Well,” Elway said, “it’s almost to the point I expect it now.”

Elway, who had just 108 yards passing heading into the game’s final 5 minutes, finished 16 of 33 for 181 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a career-high 71 yards, breaking a record he set last week, and had a 10-yard scoring pass to Shannon Sharpe in the first quarter.

Jason Elam had field goals of 36, 43 and 28 yards for the Broncos (8-1), who shut down the Raiders until the final quarter.

Jeff Hostetler threw a pair of touchdown passes in the fourth period to give the Raiders a short-lived 21-16 lead. Hostetler was 22 of 36 for 247 yards, but the Raiders’ offense was ruined by 86 yards in penalties.

The first Monday night game in Oakland in 15 years attracted the Raiders’ first sellout of the season. With the Coliseum expanded to 62,500 during an off-season, $129.4 million renovation, it was the largest crowd ever in Oakland.

The Raiders used a no-huddle scheme in the fourth quarter to turn a tedious game into a battle. The Broncos led 16-7 when Hostetler rallied the Raiders with TD passes of 15 yards to Derrick Fenner and 42 yards to Tim Brown with 5:01 left.

But it took Elway just 47 seconds to drive the Broncos 73 yards to victory.

Former Steeler Mansfield dies

The body of former Pittsburgh Steelers center Ray Mansfield was removed from the Grand Canyon by helicopter, two days after the former University of Washington star died while hiking, the National Park Service said.

Mansfield, 55, likely died of natural causes Saturday, the first day of a four-day hiking trip along the canyon’s south rim, officials said.

Mansfield played on two Super Bowl teams, and his love of the outdoors earned him the nickname “Ranger.” From Kennewick, he played at UW from 1960-62.

Cox out for season

Bryan Cox’s thumb surgery was more complicated than anticipated, so the excitable Chicago Bears linebacker is done for the season.

Cox’s final game came Sunday, when he played with a broken left thumb as Chicago beat Tampa Bay.