Broncos 37, Raiders 21
DENVER -- Peyton Manning threw for three touchdowns in another dominating display, and the Denver Broncos beat the Oakland Raiders 37-21 Monday night to tie a team record with their 14th consecutive regular-season victory.
Manning fired scoring passes of 2 yards to Eric Decker, 12 yards to Wes Welker and 13 yards to Julius Thomas in pushing his season total to 12, the most touchdown passes in the first three games of a year in NFL history. The previous high was 11 by New England's Tom Brady.
Ronnie Hillman added a 1-yard touchdown run for Denver (3-0), which won its last 11 regular-season games last year before losing to the Baltimore Ravens in an AFC divisional playoff game.
Manning finished 32 of 37 for 374 yards in leading an attack that the Raiders simply couldn't keep up with offensively and couldn't control defensively. His principal target was Decker, who made eight receptions for 133 yards.
The only blemish was a lost fumble by Manning when he was sacked by LaMarr Houston in the third quarter. The Raiders defensive end beat left tackle Chris Clark, making his first start in place of Ryan Clady, who went on season-ending injured reserve last week with a Lisfranc injury in his left foot.
Jason Hunter recovered the loose ball for the Raiders' first takeaway of the season, and Terrelle Pryor led a drive that ended in running back Darren McFadden's 16-yard touchdown pass to fullback Marcel Reece, pulling the Raiders within 30-14 with 17 seconds left in the third quarter.
Manning answered by leading his seventh scoring drive of the night, ending in Hillman's scoring run.
With the game out of reach, the Raiders added a 1-yard touchdown run by McFadden with 1:15 remaining.
Pryor finished 19 of 28 for 281 yards, including a 73-yard score to Denarius Moore.
The Raiders came in tied for the NFL lead in sacks but couldn't get to Manning in the first half. He repeatedly beat Oakland's blitz with play-action passes or by dumping the ball off to his "hot" receiver in guiding Denver to a 27-7 halftime lead.
Manning, operating the no-huddle offense, took the Broncos downfield in their first series of the game. His 22-yard completion to Demaryius Thomas gave Denver a first-and-goal at the 4-yard line. Two plays later, Manning hit a wide-open Decker in the end zone on a play-action pass.
Manning's second touchdown toss went to Welker, who shook cornerback Tracy Porter with an outside move before coming back across the middle to gather in Manning's pass. The score gave the Broncos a 17-0 lead in the middle of the second quarter.
The Raiders broke up Denver's scoring spree with Pryor's long touchdown pass to Moore. The Oakland receiver made the catch at midfield, broke away from two defenders and broke a tackle at the goal line.
Denver came right back as Decker and Manning teamed up on a 61-yard completion to get within striking distance. A couple of plays later, Charles Woodson lined up directly across from tight end Julius Thomas and then blitzed. Thomas slipped out to the flat unguarded, and Manning quickly lofted the ball over the charging Woodson and into the arms of Thomas for his third scoring pass of the night. The touchdown gave the Broncos a 24-7 lead with 3:40 left in the second quarter.
In the final minute before halftime, Denver's Matt Prater kicked a 41-yard field goal. He made a 53-yarder in the last minute of the first quarter.
NOTES: The Broncos also put together 14 straight regular-season victories when they won the final game of the 1997 season the first 13 of the 1998 season. ... Moore finished with six catches for 124 yards. The touchdown catch was his career long. ... Denver CB Champ Bailey tested his sprained left foot during a pregame workout, but his comeback was placed on hold for at least another week. Bailey missed his third consecutive game. ... Rookie LB Sio Moore was among the Raiders' inactive players after suffering a concussion in a car accident Saturday. ... Manning threw multiple touchdown passes in a game for the 138th time in his career, second in NFL history to Brett Favre (159). ... The Raiders briefly considered letting PK Sebastian Janikowski try for an NFL-record 68-yard field goal with five seconds left in the second quarter before opting to throw deep. The Broncos sacked Pryor on the play. Janikowski tied the NFL record with a 63-yard field goal two years ago. ... The Broncos lost CB Tony Carter to an ankle injury in the first quarter. ... Porter left in the third quarter due to a head injury.
