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Jordan exposes holes in Broncos' defense

Pat Rooney, Special To The Rocky

Published September 17, 2007 at midnight

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Watching LaMont Jordan slice through the interior of the Broncos defense offered a reminder of how fortunate the team is to be 2-0.

It also provided coach Mike Shanahan and defensive coordinator Jim Bates something to focus on and, hopefully, shore up before the club attempts to extend its winning streak to three games next week against Jacksonville.

With Oakland quarterback Josh McCown struggling in the passing game - the Broncos sacked him four times and recorded three interceptions - Jordan nearly became a one-man Broncos killer Sunday.

The Broncos defense will not be happy with some of the final numbers, particularly the 200 rushing yards it allowed, but it will be satisfied about making enough big plays to offset the often porous holes Oakland exposed up front.

"We made some plays," defensive end Elvis Dumervil said. "I think overall we played with great effort. There were a couple plays here and there that could have cost us the game, but we made plays ourselves. That's why we won."

Jordan, though, almost lifted Oakland to a comeback victory. After producing 47 yards in the first half, Jordan went for 112 on 14 carries after halftime.

While Jordan was busy carving up the inside of the Broncos' defense, Denver was able to produce drive-stopping plays at crucial junctures.

In the waning moments of regulation, after a 13-yard run by Jordan put Oakland within sniffing distance of field-goal range, cornerback Dré Bly came up with his first interception in a Broncos uniform, ensuring the game would go into overtime.

Jordan opened the Raiders' first overtime possession with a 33-yard run that moved the ball into Broncos territory.

A timeout called just before Sebastian Janikowski's apparent winning 52-yard field goal - his second try hit the left upright - was the only thing that kept Jordan from being Oakland's hero.

"That's the first thing we have to be able to do - stop the run," Broncos rookie defensive tackle Marcus Thomas said. "We're still trying to figure out what's going on. We'll work on it and get better for next week.

"It's just the big plays. It's not like people are really chopping at us, but it's the big plays that get us. We just have to stop the big plays."