Raiders upset Broncos, 25-24

AP Sports Writer

DENVER — The Silver and Black looked right at home in the white stuff.

Kerry Collins threw for 339 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Oakland Raiders to an upset in the snow Sunday night, 25-24 over the Denver Broncos.

Collins hit Jerry Porter for three of the scores, including the winner on fourth-and-goal from the 5 with 1:49 remaining.

After Oakland took the lead, Jake Plummer drove the Broncos (7-4) 49 yards to the Raiders 25 to set up Jason Elam’s field goal attempt. But the snap was high, Elam kicked the lace-side of the ball and Langston Walker blocked the kick to preserve the win for Oakland (4-7), which will surely count this as a major highlight of a difficult year.

The Broncos, meanwhile, were 11-point favorites, but lost at home for the second time in three games. The loss puts them one game behind the Chargers in the AFC West.

with a game at San Diego coming next week.

Oakland’s winning touchdown was set up by a 63-yard completion from Collins to Ronald Curry, who a few minutes earlier made a spectacular one-handed grab in the back of the end zone to cut his team’s deficit to 24-19.

Collins finished 26-for-45 and showed no fear of Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey. In fact, his first two touchdown throws — both to Porter — came at Bailey’s expense.

The first came on a post route down the middle of the field in which the Broncos cornerback let Porter slip behind him. The second was on a simple slant in which Collins rifled the ball perfectly and Bailey couldn’t prevent Porter from making the catch or tackle him before he crossed the goal line.

Meanwhile, Bailey’s biggest hit of the night came on his own teammate, Kelly Herndon, as the two vied for an interception off a high, jump ball thrown by Collins. The pass fell incomplete.

Plummer threw for 245 yards, including an 85-yard touchdown to Rod Smith that went down as the longest play in either player’s career. Plummer also hit Ashley Lelie for 57 yards to set up a touchdown that gave Denver a 17-13 lead early in the third quarter.

A few plays later, Denver defensive tackle Ellis Johnson intercepted a batted pass and returned it 32 yards for an 11-point lead and the Broncos looked secure.

The Raiders didn’t give up, though.

Collins finished with his second 300-yard game of the season. Porter caught six passes for 135 yards for his biggest game of the year. Meanwhile, Curry’s two big catches made up for a bad drop in last week’s 23-17 loss to San Diego — a loss that added fuel to speculation that coach Norv Turner might not make it past his first year with the team.

Elam’s miss was only his third of the season, but he almost had another one earlier. He opened the scoring on a 32-yarder that barely warbled through after a high snap — much like the one that caused him to miss with the game on the line.

BNotes:

Broncos CB Lenny Walls left with a shoulder separation. ... Raiders RB Tyrone Wheatley was taken off on a cart after injuring his hamstring. ... The Broncos wore their alternate orange uniforms for the second time and fell to 0-2 wearing them. ... The teams split the series for only the fifth time in the last 26 seasons.