Raiders shock Broncos with win at Mile High

Football Betting Lines

11/23/2008 - Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darren McFadden rushed for a pair of scores and Ashley Lelie added a touchdown catch as the Oakland Raiders surprised the Denver Broncos with a 31-10 win at Invesco Field at Mile High.

JaMarcus Russell was effective, completing 10-of-11 passes for 152 yards with one touchdown for the Raiders (3-8), who snapped a four-game losing streak. Justin Fargas rushed for 107 yards on 24 carries, while McFadden had 38 yards on the ground.

McFadden's one-yard touchdown run with 5:26 remaining in the third quarter was Oakland's first offensive score in 15 quarters of play, a span that covered 206 plays from scrimmage. Lelie had four grabs for 92 yards and Johnnie Lee Higgins returned a punt 89 yards for a score.

Jay Cutler struggled, finishing a woeful 16-of-37 for 204 yards with an interception for Denver (6-5), which has dropped four of its last six. Peyton Hillis rushed 17 times for 74 yards and a score for the Broncos.

With the Raiders holding a 10-3 lead after one half, the hosts came out of the locker room and found the end zone after a well-orchestrated 13-play, 85-yard drive. Facing a 4th-and-inches from the Oakland six-yard-line, Hillis took the handoff from Cutler, ran around the left end and in for the score to tie the contest.

In a back-and-forth affair, Russell hooked up for a 51-yard pass play to Lelie moving it to the Denver 19. Six plays later, McFadden took a pitch in for the score from a yard out to put the Raiders ahead by a 17-10 margin.

"To me that was the real drive of the game," said Raiders coach Tom Cable. "The defense had a rough drive, there were a couple of penalties in that drive. They came down and got a touchdown, but we answered right away. I thought that was huge. It's the first time we've really done that all year."

After a sputtering Denver offense went three-and-out on its next series, Russell connected with Lelie for a four-yard TD. The score finished off a 10- play, 74-yard drive, making it a 24-10 game in the early stages in the fourth quarter.

Another McFadden one-yard scoring run with 9:42 left in the contest put the Silver and Black in front by a commanding 21 points. Neither team would add points the rest of the way and Oakland earned the 31-10 victory.

The Raiders got a bit of revenge on the Broncos, who came into Oakland and won the season-opener 41-14 on a Monday night.

"We knew they were going to come in here and play hard," said Cutler. "We kind of embarrassed them the first game on Monday night. They've got a good defense. We knew we had our hands full and they came out to play."

After a scoreless first quarter, Sebastian Janikowski's 26-yard chip shot capped a nine-play, 56-yard drive to give the Raiders the lead with 8:01 left in the half. Behind some accurate passing by Russell and hard running by Fargas, Oakland quickly moved the ball downfield and had a 1st-and-goal on the Denver three-yard-line. However a Broncos' goal-line stand forced the visitors to settle for the three.

Matt Prater's field goal from 44 yards away on the Broncos' ensuing drive tied the contest with 2:58 remaining.

Oakland finally found the end zone with 1:06 remaining in the opening half. Following a three-and-out by Denver, Higgins fielded Brett Kern's punt at the Raiders 11, brushed off a couple of weak Broncos tacklers and tip-toed down the near sideline for the score. Higgins was then flagged for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for doing a celebratory back flip in the end zone.

Prater's 43-yard effort sailed wide left as time expired in the first half and Oakland took a 10-3 advantage into the break.

Game Notes

Denver will visit the New York Jets on November 30, while Oakland hosts Kansas City...The Raiders have not scored a first-quarter touchdown this season and have not scored a first-quarter touchdown on the road since September 30, 2007...The Raiders lead the all-time regular season series with Denver, which dates back to 1960, by a 55-40-2 count...Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan is now 21-7 against the team he coached in 1988 and part of the 1989 season before being fired...Brandon Marshall had four catches for 84 yards for Denver.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game

How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.

Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.

The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).

Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.

The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).

Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.