Broncos overwhelm rival Raiders with big 3rd quarter

Posted: Sep 30, 2012 10:13 PM by Casey Conlon - Q2 Sports

DENVER, CO - Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos played three elite defenses in their first three games. Sunday, they got a chance to show what they could do against everyone else.

Manning threw for 338 yards and 3 touchdowns, Willis McGahee had 112 yards rushing, and Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker combined for 184 yards and a TD on 12 catches as Denver's offensive stars lit up the Oakland Raiders, 37-6.

The Broncos outscored Oakland 21-0 in the 3rd quarter after only leading 10-6 at halftime. Decker caught a 17-yard TD pass from Manning to make it 17-6, before McGahee ran for a 2-yard score. Manning then hit Lance Ball on a 14-yard touchdown to put the game out of reach. The three TD's came within a 6:22 span of each other.

Manning started the scoring on the game's first drive, as he hit Joel Dreessen on a 22-yard TD strike to put Denver up 7-0 less than five minutes into the game. Oakland clamped down on the Broncos for the rest of the first half, before Denver's third quarter onslaught.

The Broncos gained over 500 yards of total offense and held Oakland to 237. Carson Palmer was 19-34 passing for 202 yards, but could not get the Raiders into the endzone. Two Sebastian Janikowski field goals were their only points.

The win moves Denver to 2-2 on the year, and drops Oakland to 1-3. Manning will renew his rivalry with New England star QB Tom Brady next week as the Patriots host the Broncos. The game will be live on Q2 Sunday, at 2:25 pm MDT.