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Elam's overtime field goal gives Broncos win over Raiders

Sep 17, 2007 - 2:25 AM By Tony Desiere PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

DENVER (Ticker) -- The "Mile High Magic" struck again.

Jason Elam hit a 23-yard field goal in overtime Sunday as the Denver Broncos escaped with a 23-20 win over the Oakland Raiders.

Oakland's attempt to win the game in overtime appeared successful when kicker Sebastian Janikowski hit a 52-yarder that had the Raiders' sideline celebrating.

However, Denver had called timeout just before the snap and Janikowski's second attempt hit the left upright. With new life, the Broncos marched down field in nine plays, setting up the Elam's field goal with 5:21 to go.

It was Elam's second game-winning kick in as many games as he converted a 42-yarder with one second remaining last week to give the Broncos a 15-14 victory over the Buffalo Bills.

"I'll take them every time," Elam said. "The excitement of the moment never gets old."

But the dramatic wins are taking a toll on Denver coach Mike Shanahan.

"I really think my players don't like me and they're trying to kill me," Shanahan joked. "We had some adversity, some turnovers, but we were able to fight back, and make plays when we had to make them."

The Raiders thought the game was over after Janikowski hit the field goal in overtime, but Shanahan's timeout came just as the ball was snapped.

"I was standing right there when he called it," Broncos safety John Lynch said. "He took it down to the last second and at first I thought he wasn't going to call one but then he did and the whistle was blown."

"I've never seen a team call timeout and still have the defense rush the kick," Raiders defensive tackle Warren Sapp added. "But calling timeouts is as American as apple pie and baseball. We always call them."

Denver intercepted Josh McCown three times and kept Oakland from moving the ball through the air. The Broncos had a hard time, however, stopping the Raiders' running game as LaMont Jordan rushed for 159 yards.

"We did a good job rushing the ball," Raiders coach Lane Kiffin said. "Even though we had 200 yards rushing, we didn't throw the ball very well. We need to go back and look at the film to see what happened."

The only time Oakland did not struggle in the air was when McCown hit Jerry Porter for a 46-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. Porter beat Broncos cornerback Dre Bly for a wide-open catch and ran unimpeded to the end zone, pulling the Raiders within 17-10.

"Outside of that play, we struggled today, no doubt about it," said McCown, who completed only 5-of-8 passes for 12 yards before the TD pass to Porter and finished just 8-of-16 for 73 yards. "That's the stuff I have to fix and get corrected. We didn't fight really hard in the passing game today. You have to give them (the Broncos) credit."

The Raiders recorded a safety in the fourth quarter when former Bronco Gerard Warren sacked Cutler in the end zone.

"I knew we needed to come out and match up," said Warren. "It was a simple play that we had to execute. I knew we had a sack. I didn't know it was a safety."

Oakland's defense scored again when Thomas Howard returned an interception that was tipped at the line 44 yards for a touchdown with 9:07 remaining. A two-point conversion pass gave the Raiders a 20-17 lead.

"Obviously, we will get the photos and find out what went wrong," Cutler said. "That pass deflection, you cant do anything about that."

The Broncos appeared ready to turn the game into a rout early as Cutler led Denver on two first-half drives. He hit Brandon Stokley with a 9-yard touchdown strike, then set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Cecil Sapp.

"It would have been easy to just take a dive and go down 30 points," Kiffin said. "But we hung in there. I'm really excited about the way they fought back and played together as a team tonight."

Elam's 23-yard field goal with 21 seconds remaining in the second quarter staked the Broncos to a 17-3 lead at the half.

After Oakland scored 17 straight points, Cutler marched the Broncos 78 yards in 15 plays before Elam forced overtime by hitting a 20-yard field goal with 2:22 remaining.

"We jumped out to an early lead," said Cutler, who was 23-of-33 for 269 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. "Then, we let them back in with that pick they returned. We're still winning games and that is what counts."