Broncos 34, Raiders 14
OAKLAND, Calif. - Quarterback Peyton Manning threw for four touchdowns in a sparkling -- and abbreviated -- performance that capped a record-setting season and secured the AFC's No. 1 seed in the playoffs for the Denver Broncos, who beat the Oakland Raiders 34-14 in a regular-season finale on Sunday.
Manning, who was relieved by Brock Osweiler in the second half, completed 25-of-28 passes for 266 yards, giving him an NFL single-season record of 5,477 yards passing. That is 1 yard more than the previous high in 2011 by New Orleans' Drew Brees.
Manning had scoring passes of 3 yards to Eric Decker and 7 yards to Knowshon Moreno. His last two both went to Demaryius Thomas, the first covering 63 yards and the other coming just before halftime, a 5-yarder that gave him 55 TD passes on the season, extending his NFL record. With that, Manning's work day was over.
Matt Prater added field goals of 34 and 54 yards to help Denver finish the regular season as the NFL's highest scoring team, racking up 606 points. The Broncos became the first team in history to surpass the 600-point threshold while eclipsing the 2007 New England squad, which had the previous high with 589 points.
With the AFC's No. 1 seed locked up for the second straight season, the Broncos will have a first-round bye and homefield advantage as long as they remain alive in the playoffs. The Broncos (13-3) were upset by Baltimore in the divisional round last season, and the Ravens went on to win the Super Bowl.
Sunday's victory was the Broncos' sixth straight against the Raiders (4-12), who endured their 11th straight losing season.
Terrelle Pryor, benched for ineffectiveness earlier this season, had a rough outing in his return as the Raiders' starting quarterback in the finale. He routinely was off target with his passes, and on other occasions, his receivers let him down with drops.
The Raiders avoided a shutout when Pryor, with his best throw of the day, threaded a 14-yard touchdown pass to Rod Streater with 4:24 left to play. He added a 9-yard scoring pass to Nick Kasa with 46 seconds to go.
Pryor completed 21-of-38 for 207 yards but also fumbled a low shotgun snap that ended Oakland's second possession. It was recovered by Denver rookie defensive lineman Sylvester Williams at the Raiders' 21-yard line. Four plays later, Manning hit Moreno on a middle screen that went for a touchdown.
Manning set the course for the rout when he drove the Broncos 71 yards on their opening possession. He found Decker open in the end zone to complete an opening drive with a touchdown pass for the eighth time this season.
He targeted Thomas in the second quarter. Manning lofted a downfield strike to Thomas, who got past both Raiders safeties to haul in the 63-yard strike from Manning. The two hooked up again with 18 seconds left in the second quarter on a 5-yard touchdown that gave Manning the single-season passing record with a yard to spare and extended his single-season touchdown mark to 55.
The Raiders did not run a play in Broncos' territory in the first two quarters, and they left the field to a cascade of boos when they got the ball back with seconds remaining in the second quarter and took a knee to run out the first-half clock.
After blocking a punt in the third quarter, the Raiders had a chance to get on the scoreboard, but Sebastian Janikowski missed a field goal try.
The Broncos played the finale without wide receiver Wes Welker, who missed his third game because of a concussion. Linebacker Nate Irving registered his first career sack while playing in place of Von Miller, who underwent season-ending knee surgery after suffering an injury during a victory at Houston a week ago.
NOTES: Quarterback Peyton Manning has thrown a touchdown pass in 39 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NFL. ... The Raiders used eight different starting combinations in their offensive line this season, an NFL high. ... Broncos scored 30 or more points in 13 of 16 games this season. ... On a tough day for the current Raiders, the crowd could take some consolation in halftime ceremonies honoring the Raiders' 1983 Super Bowl team. ... Raiders K Sebastian Janikowski has missed nine field goals this season, tied for most in the NFL. ... WR Demaryius Thomas surpassed 100 yards receiving in a regular season game for the 15th time. ... Broncos safety Mike Adams was replaced by David Bruton after leaving the game with a head injury. ... Broncos safety Duke Ihenacho also was being evaluated for a concussion after suffering head injury.
