Peyton Manning was nearly perfect in a 37-21 win over the Oakland Raiders. Manning threw for 374 yards and his three touchdowns put him at 12 for the season which is a new NFL record (beating Tom Brady’s previous 11 touchdown in three game record). Denver rolled Oakland to remain in the win column so far this season. Manning finished 32-of-37 with no interceptions. Eric Decker had eight catches for 133 yards and a score as the Broncos tied a franchise record with their 14th consecutive regular season win. Terrelle Pryor was a very poised 19-of-28 for 281 yards and connected with up and comer Denarius Moore on a 73-yard touchdown pass, but the Raiders were unable to keep pace with a Denver juggernaut that has totaled 127 points in its first three games, tying the ‘68 Dallas Cowboys for the second-highest total in league history. Darren McFadden ran for one TD and passed for another for the Raiders. Manning carved up Oakland with surgical precision in the first half, hitting 15 straight completions at one point as the Broncos scored the first 17 points on route to taking a 20 point lead going into half time at 27-7. The Raiders got on the scoreboard on Pryor’s strike to Moore, but Manning answered that with a masterful four play, 80 yard march capped by a 13-yard toss to break out tight end Julius Thomas. The Raiders used a bit of trickery to keep their dying hopes alive in the last seconds of the third quarter, with RB McFadden finding Marcel Reese for a 16 yard TD on a halfback option to cut the deficit to 30 to 14. Manning directed an eight play, 80-drive that culminated with Ronnie Hillman’s 1 yard plunge to put it out of reach (welcome back Ronnie!).
The Clady Effect: Clady replacement Chris Clark got a critical holding penalty on a promising Denver drive in the first quarter and allowed Manning to be stripped when caught up from behind by Lamarr Houston, but otherwise played admirably against Oakland’s dominate defensive line.
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