The Denver Broncos defeated The Oakland Raiders 23-3 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in 2009 Regular Season Week 3 action. K Sebastian Janikowski connected on a 48-yard field goal attempt and rookie safety Mike Mitchell recorded the first fumble recovery of his NFL career.
Denver won the opening coin toss and chose to defer their choice to the start of the second half. The Raiders elected to receive and recently signed to the roster from the practice squad, converted wide receiver, defensive back Jonathan Holland dropped back to field the opening kickoff. Holland fielded K Matt Prater's kick eight yards deep in the end zone and took a knee. The Raiders offense took the field at the 20 with JaMarcus Russell at quarterback. The Raiders went three-and-out and P Shane Lechler came on.
WR Eddie Royal returned Lechler's 47-yard punt three yards to the Denver 31. The Broncos drove to the Raiders 1 before facing 4th and goal. LB Kirk Morrison stuffed the ball carrier short of the goal line and the Silver and Black took over on downs.
Two plays later, Russell's deep pass for rookie WR Darrius Heyward-Bey was picked off by Renaldo Hill and returned to the Raiders 23. QB Kyle Orton got Denver on the board with a 2-yard TD pass to WR Brandon Marshall. Prater's extra point was good and Denver took a 7-0 lead with 2:07 left in the first quarter.
Prater's ensuing kickoff sailed out of the back of the end zone for a touchback and the Raiders offense took the field at its own 20. After two RB Darren McFadden runs, one for a 15-yard gain, Andre Goodman picked off a Russell pass and returned the interception to the Raiders 34.
The Raiders held the Broncos to a three-and-out and Prater came on for a 48-yard field goal attempt. The kick was good and at the end of the first quarter, the Broncos led 10-0.
Holland fielded the kick in the end zone and ran it out. He returned it 19 yards to the 14. K Sebastian Janikowski capped a 12-play, 56-yard drive with a 48-yard field goal. The drive took 8:23 off the clock and cut the Broncos lead to 10-3 with 6:37 left in the second quarter.
Royal returned the ensuing kickoff to the Denver 22. Denver drove to the Raiders 3 before having to settle for a 21-yard Prater field goal. The kick capped an 11-play, 76-yard drive and gave the Broncos a 13-3 lead with 1:09 left in the second quarter.
Holland returned the ensuing kickoff to the Raiders 16. The Raiders were unable to mount a scoring drive and went to the locker room at halftime trailing 13-3.
The Broncos chose to receive the second half kickoff. Royal mishandled the kickoff and gathered it up in the end zone and took a knee for a touchback. RB Knowshon Moreno capped an 8-play, 80-yard drive with a 7-yard TD run. The extra point was good and Denver took at 20-3 lead with 10:57 left in the third quarter.
The Raiders drove to midfield before Denver forced a punt. Lechler's kick was downed at the Broncos 6. Rookie safety Mike Mitchell recovered a Broncos fumble at the Denver 16. Two plays later, Denver recovered a Raiders fumble at their own 5. Prater capped a 16-play, 88-yard drive with a 24-yard FG to give the Broncos a 23-3 lead with 11:57 left in the fourth.
After a possession filled with penalties on both teams, the Raiders were faced with 4th down at their own 2 and were forced to punt. Lechler's punt bounced out of bounds at the Oakland 49 where the Broncos took over.
The Raiders defense forced a three-and-out and P Brett Kern's kick bounced into the end zone for a touchback and the Raiders took over at their own 20 with 8:13 left in the game.
The Broncos forced a three-and-out of their own and Lechler's 54-yard punt was returned 18 yards to the Denver 44. The Raiders forced a three-and-out and Kern came on to punt. WR Johnnie Lee Higgins fielded the punt on a bounce and returned it to the Oakland 24.
The Raiders were unable to score and turned the ball over on downs after failing to convert on 4th and 5. The Broncos drove to the Raiders 35 and faced 4th and 1converting on a pass from Orton to Marshall for 17 yards to the Raiders 18. An Orton kneel down ran out the clock and ended the game.
The Raiders fall to 1-2 on the young season and travel to Houston next week to face the Texans at Reliant Stadium in 2009 Regular Season Week 4 action.
