Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Bobby Elder, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Oakland 34 at Denver 10 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Oakland Raiders: The Raiders put on quite a show for Monday Night's 500th game. Rich Gannon set a single game record for completing 21 consecutive passes. Jerry Rice caught his 200th and 201st career touchdowns. Trace Armstrong recorded his 100th sack. The only thing missing was a close game. During a pre-game interview Jerry Rice said he brought his 'A-game'. His numbers prove him right as he continues to be the go-to receiver in Oakland. He had 4 catches for 24 and a TD in the first half and then exploded for 79 yards on 5 catches in the second half with another TD. The guy has more TD's and more yards from scrimmage than any other football player ever and he looks like he could play another 2 or 3 years. Rich Gannon's performance may be as close to perfect as you will ever see. He threw 34-38 for 352 yards 3 touchdowns and a 2-point conversion. His offensive line gave him all the time in the world. He continually sat back in the pocket and threw short yardage passes to wide open receivers while eating clock all night long. He was simply amazing to watch. There was no running game to speak of. Not because it wasn't working, but for lack of trying. Charlie Garner must not have been in good condition, because they only ran him 5 times. Even in the 4th quarter, when the game was out of hand, the Raiders chose to throw short passes to keep the clock running. They totaled 27 yards on the ground. Oakland scored on its first 6 possessions. They weren't stopped until the fourth quarter. Denver Broncos: Clinton Portis had a great 1st half. Unfortunately the Broncos were forced to throw for most of the 2nd half. He totaled 50 yards on the ground, 26 yards in the air, and 1 rushing touchdown. This guy is fast and fun to watch. Rod Woodson intercepted a pass that was meant for Portis in the end zone. Mike Anderson spelled him occasionally but it was never for more than a play or two. Brian Griese came out flat tonight. After throwing an ugly interception to Rod Woodson that was returned for a touchdown, he seemed to lose confidence. He did have nice yardage numbers completing 34 passes for 293 yards but failed to throw a completion into the end zone. A great Brian Griese night may not have been enough to win this game. Shannon Sharpe left the game in the first quarter with a dislocated elbow. He almost made an incredible 1-handed catch downfield, but got tangled up with Romanowski on the landing. The play was challenged and upheld. This had to have hurt the Bronco's game plan. Rod Smith and Ashley Lelie had 8 catches each for a combined 137 yards but no TD's. Ed McCaffrey also had 6 catches for 54 yards. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Oakland Raiders QB: Rich Gannon just keeps getting better. He may have saved his best for the national stage. Gannon set a single game record for completing 21 consecutive passes. He threw 34-38 for 352 yards 3 touchdowns and a 2-point conversion. His offensive line gave him all the time in the world. Denver used an unusual defensive scheme where they rushed only 2 players and dropped the other 9 into coverage. This gave Gannon a lot of time to find a receiver if they broke open. Whether he was dumping off short passes to Garner or throwing long passes to Rice and Porter, he simply couldn't miss. This may have been the best quarterback show seen in a long time. RB: Charlie Garner and the other Raider running backs were non-factors as runners in this game. Oakland seemed content to pass all night long Garner was listed as probable going into the game. He rushed 5 times for 2 yards. My guess is that they didn't want him to get banged up for precautionary reasons. He had no problem going downfield and catching balls, so he can't be all that hurt. He grabbed 7 receptions for 89 yards. In the 2nd quarter Gannon's pocket closed on him quickly and he bought himself some time by running to the left. Garner found himself wide open downfield and caught a 49-yard pass. It was nothing spectacular, but both players were definitely on the same page. Tyrone Wheatley had 4 rushes fir 9 yards and 3 receptions for 12 yards. He helped keep the clock moving. WR: Jerry Rice loves Monday Night. Jerry Rice caught his 200th and 201st career touchdowns. He caught 9 passes for 103 yards and made a mockery of the Broncos defensive backs. His 34-yard touchdown reception was beautiful. On his first score he used three different moves to get the defensive back in a position where Rice had a clear look at the ball. He's the all-time NFL leader in yards from scrimmage and touchdowns and he's playing like a third-year receiver with something to prove. Gannon has total confidence in him and it's clear that he's the no.1 option on the passing game. Jerry Porter continues to assert himself in the Raider passing offense. He finished with just three catches but one of them was a 22-yard score and another was a 27-yard catch and run for a first down in the third quarter. Al Michaels called him "an emerging star", but we know you Sharks have been all over Porter for weeks and have him stashed on your bench in those dynasty leagues. He's an excellent WR3 starter because he's a frequent scoring target but he doesn't get the yardage numbers to be a WR1 or WR2. Once Rice or Brown retires he will be so keep him stashed away. Tim Brown caught a lot of short passes. His 6 receptions went for 42 yards. Not great numbers, but he did what he was asked to do to help the team win this game. There's a danger that Brown is starting to look like the forgotten man in the Raiser passing offense. Sure, he gets his looks, he finished with 6 catches for 42 yards, but a 7ypc average isn't anything to get excited about. The Jerry's just aren't leaving him enough scoring opportunities to be a consistent fantasy performer. TE: Rookie Doug Jolley almost matched his season total in yards with 41 yards on 4 receptions. He has 45 yards on the year. He looked impressive for some guy that nobody seemed to have ever heard of. Roland Williams caught 2 passes for 9 yards. Oakland Pass Defense: Brian Griese didn't enjoy the same time to throw that Rich Gannon did. The Raiders kept steady pressure on the QB and sacked him 4 times. Rod Woodson intercepted a pass on the 2-yard line and returned it 98 yards for a score. Charles Woodson aggravated a hamstring injury but played through it. A great all around game. Oakland Rush Defense: They didn't seem to have an answer for Clinton Portis. He ran well up the middle and used his considerable speed to get around the corners. The only thing that stopped him was the growing Raider lead that forced the Broncos to abandon the running game. Oakland Special Teams: Janikowski hit both of his tries tonight (47, 32). /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Denver Broncos QB: Brian Griese came out flat tonight. After throwing an interception to Rod Woodson that was returned for a touchdown, he seemed to lose confidence. Excellent yardage numbers as he did complete 34 passes for 293 yards but failed to throw a completion into the end zone. His favorite targets were Rod Smith and rookie Ashley Lelie with 8 receptions apiece. He also recovered his own fumble. RB: Clinton Portis is an amazing runner. It seems like any run could be the one that finds the end zone. He had a great 1st half. Unfortunately the Broncos were forced to throw for most of the 2nd half. He totaled 50 yards on the ground, 26 yards in the air, and 1 rushing touchdown. This guy is fast and fun to watch. Rod Woodson intercepted a pass that was meant for Portis in the end zone. His 1-yard TD run was a relief to owners worried that Mike Anderson might become a vulture. Portis also showed excellent hands as a receiver out of the backfield. He would have had a receiving TD early in the game but the pass was intercepted by Rod Woodson on the Oakland 2 and returned 98 yards for a score. Mike Anderson was almost exclusively a fullback. He only took 3 carries away from Portis for just 8 yards. He was not a threat to steal carries or scores from Portis. WR: With the injury to TE Shannon Sharpe, Ed McCaffrey ran a lot of the routes Sharpe would have run. He finished with 6 catches for 54 yards. A lot of them were shorter crossing routes, not the downfield routes he's usually running. Ashley Lelie moved into the Ed McCaffrey role after the Sharpe injury and showed us why the Broncos took him in the first round this Spring. Lelie used his speed to get past cornerbacks and get open downfield. He finished with 8 catches for 65 yards and he added 2 rushes for 12 yards. His speed was clearly evident on a reverse he ran in the first half. The defense had sniffed the play and the end was waiting for Lelie as he got the ball. Lelie made a small move and beat the end to the corner, turning a sure loss into a small gain. Rod Smith led all Bronco receivers with 8 catches for 72 yards. He's still the go-to guy for Griese and the Broncos but the emergence of Lelie as an every-down receiver means that the decline might be right around the corner for Smith's numbers. He is still a sure start every week but it might be a good idea to have a back up plan for next year in dynasty leagues. TE: Shannon Sharpe left the game in the first quarter with a dislocated elbow. He almost made an incredible 1-handed catch downfield, but got tangled up with Romanowski on the landing. The play was challenged and upheld. This had to have hurt the Bronco's game plan. He did catch 1 pass for 10 yards. Dewayne Carswell filled in nicely for Sharpe, finishing with 5 catches for 57 yards. While he's a decent receiver he doesn't bring that home run threat that Sharpe presents from the TE position so I can't really recommend him as a roster replacement. Denver Pass Defense: Rich Gannon absolutely shredded the Denver secondary. The Broncos were running a disguised coverage where they would line 7 at scrimmage but then drop 5 of them into coverage. That left just two to rush the passer. Rich Gannon took had as much time as he wanted in the pocket and just waited for a receiver to break open. Gannon wasn't even hit until the second half, much less sacked. The Broncos finally got to him in the second half but that was it for the night. Denver Rush Defense: The Raider game plan heavily favored the pass so the Denver rush defense pretty much had the night off. The Broncos ran only 7 times in the first half and three of those were Gannon scrambles on called runs. The linebackers and linemen were extremely quick to the ball carrier when the Raiders did run, though, and they held Oakland to just 37 rushing yards in the game. Denver Special Teams: Jason Elam hit is only attempt, a 27-yarder, in the 4th quarter. Denver was down 27-7. It made absolutely no sense.