DENVER — Darren Mc-Fadden’s most productive game as a pro helped boost the Oakland Raiders to the highest-scoring performance in the franchise’s history.
McFadden, the former Arkansas Razorbacks running back, had three rushing touchdowns and scored a fourth touchdown on a pass reception in a 196-yard all around performance during the Raiders’ 59-14 victory over the Broncos.
“When he’s been healthy, he’s been very, very productive, so I’m not surprised by it,” Raiders Coach Tom Cable said of McFadden. “I’m pleased, though, that it came in a game like this. When he’s been on the field, he has shown that he is very much the guy we drafted.”
The Raiders selected Mc-Fadden with the No. 4 overall pick of the 2008 NFL draft, but toe, shoulder and knee injuries dogged him the first two seasons. This year, he was slowed by a hamstring injury in training camp and missed the past two games with another hamstring injury, suffered Oct. 3 against the Houston Texans.
His eye-opening game against the Broncos Sunday included runs of 40 and 57 yards, the latter a career-long, en route to a career-high 165 yards rushing.
He bowled over safety Renaldo Hill at the Broncos’ 4-yard line on his way to the end zone on a 19-yard reception.
“He’s been doing that all year,” left guard Robert Gallery said. “Darren’s a heck of a back. He showed that. He can outrun guys. He got out on that edge, and nobody could catch him.”
Said Broncos linebacker Jason Hunter: “He ran strong. He ran hard. He ran fast.”
The Raiders (3-4) won for the third consecutive time at Invesco Field, fueled by a 38-point outburst in the first 22minutes.
The Raiders kept the Broncos (2-5) guessing until announcing shortly before kickoff that backup Jason Campbell would start at quarterback despite a sore knee in place of Bruce Gradkowski (sore shoulder).
It didn’t seem to bother Campbell one bit, and McFadden showed he was close to 100 percent by scoring three times in the first half.
“I just wanted to come out there and pick up where I left off,” McFadden said.
He did better than that.
McFadden, a two-time Heisman Trophy runner-up at Arkansas, totaled 554 yards in four games before going down with the hamstring injury in a loss to the Houston Texans. But McFadden reclaimed his role as featured back in convincing fashion.
“I feel very comfortable out there,” McFadden said. “I know what my role is. I know I’m going to go out there and get carries.”
The Raiders had never scored eight touchdowns before, and since the franchise’s inception in 1960, they had never piled up more than 52 points.
Born that same year, the Broncos allowed this many points only one other time, in the 1963 season opener, which they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 59-7.
It got so bad that after Mc-Fadden’s 57-yard rush down the Broncos’ sideline, the stream of fans heading to the exits became a rush, leaving the stadium with just a smattering of die-hard supporters witnessing a historic defeat.
The Broncos, who have played the league’s toughest schedule so far, emerged from a tough month hopeful of turning things around with their first game against a divisional opponent from the middling AFC West, and they harped all week about a fast start being the key.
Instead, it was the Raiders who jumped out, scoring early and often.
Campbell found tight end Zach Miller uncovered for a 43-yard walk-in touchdown after linebackers Joe Mays and D.J. Williams both bit on the pump fake for a 7-0 lead less than five minutes in.
Then, cornerback Chris Johnson stepped in front of Jabar Gaffney and picked off Kyle Orton’s pass on Denver’s first snap, returning it for a touchdown that made it 14-0.
The Broncos - who were without their emotional leader, safety Brian Dawkins (knee), for the second consecutive week - showed little passion on their silent sideline as they were getting pummeled and the mistakes and miscues piled up.
By the fourth quarter, the Raiders were resting their starters while the Broncos weren’t - and they still couldn’t chip away at the huge deficit.
Oakland receiver Louis Murphy and Broncos cornerback Perrish Cox both left the game after a collision in the third quarter. Cox had a head injury, although it didn’t appear the play would draw interest from the league after its crackdown on illegal hits. Murphy walked off on his own.
McFadden’s performance helped the Raiders post the third-highest rushing total in franchise history, which also was the fourth-most Denver’s ever allowed.
“The O-line did a great job opening holes out there and the receivers were picking up the DBs so you could get the long runs in and the tight ends were going a great job,” McFadden said. “It was just a great day for our offense.”
Sports, Pages 13 on 10/25/2010