Raiders bust Broncos to seize division lead

Latavius Murray rushed for 114 yards and a career-high three touchdowns Sunday as the Oakland Raiders downed the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos 30-20 to seize the NFL’s AFC West division lead.
The Raiders, off to their best start since 2001, improved to 7-2, while the Broncos fell to 6-3, in third place behind Kansas City who improved to 6-2 with a 19-14 win over Jacksonville.
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr completed 20 of 31 passes for 184 yards. Denver’s Trevor Siemian completed 18 of 37 passes for 283 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
But the real difference was on the ground, with the Raiders producing 218 rushing yards compared to Denver’s 33.
Murray’s three TDs included a one-yard plunge with 6:09 remaining.
Two plays later, Denver running back Kapri Bibbs caught a screen pass and weaved his way through the Raiders’ defense for a 69-yard TD that cut the lead to 30-20.
But Oakland’s Reggie Nelson sealed the win with an interception with two minutes to play.
“We needed this one,” Murray said. “We’re going forward. This is a new team, a new mindset. We’re only halfway there.”
Fans at Oakland Coliseum, who have endured 13 straight dismal seasons, were energized by the team’s first Sunday night game in more than a decade.
With Las Vegas angling to lure the Raiders away from the Bay Area, a plane towing a sign reading “VEGAS, IF YOU BUILD IT WE WON’T COME” circled the stadium prior to kick off.
The Baltimore Ravens seized a narrow AFC North lead with a 21-14 victory over Pittsburgh that spoiled the return of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
The Ravens snapped a four-game losing streak and improved to 4-4, taking the lead over the Steelers — also 4-4 — atop the division.
Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco connected with Mike Wallace on a 95-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter — the longest pass in Ravens history.
It was 21-0 before the Steelers got on the board on Roethlisberger’s 23-yard TD pass to Antonio Brown with 8:38 to play.
“I just think I need to be better,” said Roethlisberger, who had been sidelined since surgery to repair a torn meniscus on October 17.
“Give them credit — there were times I was going to make throws and their guys jumped in front of things… I just need to be better.”
In Minneapolis, a tackle-breaking, leaping touchdown by Golden Tate lifted the Detroit Lions to a 22-16 overtime triumph against the Minnesota Vikings.
Tate caught a pass from Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford and spun away from Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes, who dived at Tate and missed. Tate then got away from safety Harrison Smith along the sideline and jumped into the end zone.
The Lions had sent the game into overtime with a 58-yard field goal with two seconds left in regulation.
“Our guys have been able to do it,” Lions coach Jim Caldwell said of his team’s five game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime this season. “It’s a tough situation to be in, but they don’t flinch.”
The Dallas Cowboys’s explosive offense scored three touchdowns in the first half enroute to a 35-10 victory over the winless Browns in Cleveland.
The Browns put up a field goal on the first possession of the game, but rookie quarterback Dak Prescott threw a 26-yard TD pass to tight end Jason Witten on the Cowboys’s first possession to give Dallas a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning threw four touchdowns in a 28-23 victory over NFC East rivals Philadelphia.
New Orleans’ Drew Brees threw three TD passes to lead the surging Saints to a 41-23 victory over the reeling San Francisco 49ers.
In Miami, rookie Kenyan Drake scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 96-yard kickoff return to lead the Dolphins to a 27-23 victory over the New York Jets.
And in Los Angeles, Cam Newton threw one touchdown pass and Graham Gano booted two field goals to lift the Carolina Panthers to a much needed 13-10 win over the Rams.