Oakland 28, Denver 16

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Bill Romanowski was at his nastiest, and Rich Gannon was thankful to be wearing the same color uniform.

Romanowski's sack knocked Denver quarterback Brian Griese out of the game, and Gannon set another NFL record in leading Oakland to its third straight AFC West title with a 28-16 victory Sunday.

Last December in Denver, Romanowski clobbered Gannon with a vicious sack that caused a fumble in a Broncos' victory that helped prevent Oakland from earning a first-round playoff bye.

On Sunday, Gannon got to safely watch as Romanowski did his thing against his former team.

``We killed them, we swept them and it ain't over yet. It's just begun,'' Romanowski said.

Gannon broke Warren Moon's 11-year-old record for completions. Gannon's 405th completion surpassed the mark set in 1991 by Moon, who was at the game as a radio commentator. Gannon has 411 completions this season.

He also made an artistic 3-yard TD scramble as Oakland jumped to a 21-0 lead and took much of the excitement out of one of the most important meetings in this long, heated rivalry.

``My legs felt real good today,'' he said. ``I felt I could make some plays, and that just happened to be one of them.''

After scoring on its first three possessions, Oakland (10-5) weathered a strong second-half comeback led by Denver backup Steve Beuerlein, who passed for 234 yards after relieving Griese.

The Raiders had no interest in discussing their domination of Denver this season. They want home-field advantage and a first-round bye, and they could get it by winning next week.

``It's really not that sweet,'' Raiders right tackle Lincoln Kennedy said. ``We expected to be in the playoffs.''

Surprisingly, Denver (8-7) came out just as flat and ineffective as in its 34-10 loss to Oakland last month -- and not even an impressive game from Beuerlein could get the Broncos back in it.

``Everybody wants to ride in a limo, but what you need is some guys that will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down,'' Denver's Shannon Sharpe said. ``We're down right now. We'll see what we're made of next week, whether we have something to play for or not. We'll see if we've got some guys who want to jump on the bus.''

Zack Crockett ran for two short touchdowns for the Raiders, who clinched the division title with their victory and the San Diego Chargers' 24-22 loss to Kansas City.

Oakland's defense made things miserable for Griese from the beginning.

Trace Armstrong sacked him on the second play, then on the next series, Armstrong, in his 13th season, made his first career interception after Derrick Gibson deflected a pass by Griese. John Parrella had deflected the previous pass.

Safety Rod Woodson, who had a 98-yard interception return in the Nov. 11 win at Denver, picked off Griese's throw late in the first quarter to put Oakland in scoring position while ahead 14-0.

Gannon was efficient despite his second straight week of low numbers, completing his first five passes and finishing 18-for-27 for 201 yards and one TD. He would need 475 yards in the season finale against Kansas City to break one of the league's most prestigious records: Dan Marino's 5,084 yards passing in 1984.

Beuerlein led the Broncos to two second-half touchdowns to pull within 21-16, but Oakland made one more commanding touchdown drive, ending in Crockett's second scoring run. And Eric Barton intercepted Beuerlein's pass at midfield with 5:39 left to secure the win.

``It was a big hole to climb out of, but we got in position to do it,'' Beuerlein said. ``It's been done before. We all believed in our hearts that we could do it, but it's asking a lot of yourself to do it against a team like the Raiders in a place like this.''

Retired cornerback Deion Sanders said he is talking with the Raiders about acomeback. Oakland senior assistant Bruce Allen would not rule it out.

Notes

Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said Griese wanted to return, but Shanahan refused to put him in position for further injury. ... Oakland CB Charles Woodson returned after missing two games with a leg injury, but did not start and was not in uniform for the second half. He will not play Saturday inOakland's season finale against the Chiefs.

Updated on Monday, Dec 23, 2002 1:40 am, EST

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