Defense again the story as Broncos beat Raiders 13-3

Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 16, 2006 at midnight

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The Broncos have taken a number, so now they wait.

Wait and wait and wait to see if their offense can stand up and offer a helping hand to a defense that has launched the team to another 4-1 start.

"That’s four, four wins, that’s the only number we have, that’s the number that matters, the rest of it is for everybody else to talk about," Broncos linebacker Al Wilson said. "The bottom line is you find a way to get a win. Our defense, we take pride in what we do, man. And I’ve been telling everybody stats might get you recognition, but you keep people out of the end zone, that’s what gets you championships.

"Our offense is going to come, they’re going to put the points on the board that everybody wants. Until then, we’ll just do our thing the best we can because we’re in it together."

And together they are, still tied with the San Diego Chargers for the AFC West lead after the Broncos’ 13-3 victory against the foundering Oakland Raiders in front of a crowd of 75,707 at Invesco Field at Mile High.

The Broncos play Sunday at Cleveland (1-4) before Indianapolis (5-0) comes to Denver on Oct. 29.

The Raiders (0-5) are the league’s only winless team after Tennessee, Detroit and Tampa Bay won Sunday.

"This was the first game where I really thought we lost our composure," Raiders coach Art Shell said. "With what we have gone through, this is the first time I felt like we lost our focus."

Football America should be used to these Broncos right now as well. Sunday’s win was the second consecutive game in a span of six days the team has won by a 13-3 score in front of a national television audience.

And again, for the fourth time in five games, the team’s defense did not surrender a touchdown.

The Broncos have allowed only one in five games this season — a late score Sept. 24 by the New England Patriots — and they find themselves on history’s short list.

"We take a lot of pride in that ...," Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey said. "I’ve never been a part of something like this."

With their effort Sunday night, the Broncos became the first team since the Detroit Lions in 1934 to surrender one or no touchdowns in the first five games of a season. Those Lions shut out their first seven opponents.

"Right now, we’re winning football games, I don’t care how it happens," Broncos safety John Lynch said. "This is a fun team to be a part of, particularly a fun defense."

The Broncos held the Raiders to 244 yards and 85 rushing on Oakland’s bang-your-head-on-the- wall 30 carries — a 2.8 yards per carry average.

The Broncos sacked Raiders quarterback Andrew Walter four times and Bailey had his second interception of the season.

And yet, even with all of that, the Raiders still outgained the Broncos, who finished with 235 yards.

The Broncos finally ended their first-quarter touchdown drought, but after that scoring drive, they ventured into the Raiders’ scoring zone only two other times, and the last one was to take a knee at the Raiders 20-yard line to end the game.

"The offense, we’re still trying to find out what the problem is," running back Tatum Bell said. "Hopefully, we have a breakout game pretty soon ... we’re right there. We get our confidence back, it will get things going."

However, the Broncos got all the breathing room they needed with a spiffy little two-play touchdown drive that was finished with a 2-yard run by Bell for a 7-0 lead with 39 seconds left in the opening quarter.

The score had been set up when Jake Plummer rolled to his left and fired a 54-yard pass to Javon Walker on first down just after the Broncos had taken over on their 44 after Sebastian Janikowski’s missed field-goal attempt.

The Broncos added field goals by Jason Elam — 51 and 22 yards — on their next two possessions for a 13-0 lead with 3:59 remaining in the second quarter.

"We started fast and got a cushion," Plummer said. "But we’ve got to keep it up in the second half."

The Broncos ran eight plays in their third-quarter possession before punting the ball and saw their first two possessions of the fourth quarter go 21 yards in four plays and minus-8 yards in three plays.

That second-half stall would have been the stuff bad dreams are made of had the defense not forced two well-timed turnovers.

Bailey intercepted Walter with 1:09 left in the first half when Walter tried to force the ball into Randy Moss on a second-and-10 play from the Broncos 28.

"We probably should have gone elsewhere at that particular time," Shell said.

"You saw it a lot on film," Bailey said. "They gave me exactly what I expected. I was in position for it, I just had to make that catch. I saw it coming."

The Raiders then drove late in the fourth quarter, pushing the ball to the Broncos 27 with 4:35 to play.

Walter completed a pass to running back LaMont Jordan for no gain, but Broncos linebacker Ian Gold knocked the ball free.

Defensive tackle Michael Myers recovered to put the period on another defensive statement. The Broncos held the ball for the game’s final 4:35.

"We had a chance to go up by more than (13-0) ...," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. "But you don’t want to make mistakes, but at the same time, you want to get first downs. We made a couple mistakes at the wrong time."

Having surrendered 37 points this season, the Broncos also are one point behind Chicago for the fewest points allowed this season among the league’s defenses.

The Bears face the Arizona Cardinals tonight.

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