Broncos Force Raiders’ Faithful To Swallow Difficult Pill

A spoonful of sugar may make the medicine go down, but a fork-full of Broncos’ second half touchdowns silences the silver and black crowd.

From a fan’s perspective and a player’s perspective, during the regular season, there isn’t a better feeling than beating the Raiders in Oakland.

Prior to Sunday’s 38-24 win, the Broncos had lost to the Raiders four consecutive times. They had not won two consecutive road games since early in the ’09 season. This victory is sweeter than the candy corn you passed out to Trick-or-Treaters out last week.

“I’ve won here on several occasions,” Wesley Woodyard said. “There’s no greater feeling than winning here. This is what it’s all about – a true football atmosphere. They hate you, we hate them, so this is what NFL football is all about.”

There’s no more hostile environment in the NFL than the Black Hole. Raiders fans entered the stadium well before kick-off just to taunt Tim Tebow as he was warming up. In their eyes, the dark side prevails. They dress the part and they act the part. It was even reported that Raiders fans were throwing plastic beer bottles at Broncos players in the second half.

“Their crowd is always into it,” Elvis Dumervil said. “That was a good feeling, a good day for the Broncos.”

Nine weeks through the season, the Broncos are well within reach of the AFC West’s top spot. They are just a game back of the division lead even with a 3-5 record. That’s what a win in the division and three losses by divisional rivals will do for you.

“Winning is everything,” Champ Bailey said. “That’s what it’s all about. When you win, you’ve got to enjoy it while you can because we know we’ve got another tough task next week.”

The Broncos are enjoying Victory Monday, but they are focusing their minds on the sea of red that they will encounter next week. The Chiefs look more like plastic indians than a football team after suffering a 31-3 loss over the previously winless Dolphins.

Regardless, the Broncos are back to work, back to focusing, back to football.

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