Raiders Run Over Broncos Oakland Spoils Denver’s Hopes For An Unbeaten Nfl Season

The Oakland Raiders dispensed with the long passing game and gave the ball to Napoleon Kaufman, who ran long all day.

The results were staggering, both for the Raiders and the previously unbeaten Denver Broncos.

Kaufman ran for a team-record 227 yards, including an 83-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter, and Eric Turner returned John Elway’s fumble 65 yards for a touchdown as the Raiders beat the Broncos 28-25 Sunday.

“The last time we played, we didn’t get a chance to get in our groove,” said Kaufman, held to 13 yards on 11 carries in a loss to San Diego two weeks ago. “But this time the coach said, ‘We’re going to run today.”’

Denver began the day as the NFL’s only unbeaten team, and the Broncos were bidding for a franchise-best 7-0 start. Terrell Davis, the AFC’s top-ranked rusher, ran for two scores, but was held to 85 yards rushing by the Raiders’ 29th-ranked defense.

“We went into this game, we said, ‘We have to out-rush Terrell Davis,”’ Raiders coach Joe Bugel said.

Kaufman took care of that as Oakland (3-4) snapped a four-game losing streak to Broncos teams coached by Mike Shanahan, who coached the Raiders for a year and a half before being fired in 1989.

Said Denver defensive tackle Michael Dean Perry: “220 yards on the ground? That’s quite a bitter pill to swallow.”

With their rushing lanes clogged, the Broncos turned to their passing game for more production and nearly pulled the game out.

“They took the run away and that’s when you need to make the big plays in the passing game and we didn’t do it,” said Elway, who completed 26 of 46 passes for 309 yards.

So effective was Kaufman that the Raiders hardly needed their topranked passing attack. Jeff George threw only 12 times, completing nine for 96 yards and two touchdowns.

“It’s a sickening feeling when you do lose,” Shanahan said. “I hope we can regroup and not feel like that again for a while.”

The Raiders faced third-and-1 when Kaufman, who eclipsed Bo Jackson’s 221 yards rushing against Seattle in 1987, broke past a pileup at the line of scrimmage and sprinted down the sideline for the score and a 28-17 lead with 7:54 left. On the first play from scrimmage, Kaufman ran for 51 yards to set up Oakland’s first TD.

Elway rallied the Broncos, throwing a 29-yard touchdown pass to Ed McCaffrey with 2:15 remaining, and Davis ran for the 2-point conversion to get the Broncos within a field goal.

But on a third-and-10 play with 1:12 remaining, George hit Tim Brown with a 15-yard pass, ensuring Elway didn’t get another shot at a last-second comeback.

“Every game we’ve given up a big play. Today it finally hurt us,” Perry said.

Turner’s fumble return put the Raiders in front to stay.

“A sleeping giant awoke and from then out, they made the plays to win,” Elway said.

Elway was trying to scramble away from pressure in the pocket when Lance Johnstone hit him from the side, knocking the ball loose. Chester McGlockton fell on Elway and batted the ball, rolling it downfield.

Turner scooped it up on the run and took off down the sideline, picking up a block at the Denver 15 from James Trapp, who screened off Davis, the last Broncos player with a shot at Turner before he went in for the score with 2:15 remaining in the third quarter.

Oakland gave Denver a chance to get right back in it when Kaufman fumbled on the first play of the fourth quarter, but Tyrone Braxton, who recovered, was pulled down after a 22-yard return to the Oakland 36. The Broncos’ drive stalled and Jason Elam missed a 43-yard field goal attempt, his second misfire of the day.

Denver gained its only lead of the day 17-14 when Davis, breaking away from defenders Anthony Smith and Albert Lewis, scored on a 4-yard run midway through the third period.

The Broncos pulled to 14-10 at halftime when Elam, who missed a 40-yard field goal try earlier, connected from 44 yards out as time expired in the second quarter.

George twice finished off first-half drives with scoring passes - a 14-yarder to James Jett and a 5-yarder to Rickey Dudley. Kaufman broke free for a 51-yard run on the first play from scrimmage to set up Jett’s score.