Raiders Turn the West Into Three-for-All : Townsend Helps L.A. to Tie for First by Edging Denver

Greg Townsend’s 86-yard interception return in the third quarter gave the Raiders the points they needed to beat the Denver Broncos Sunday in the Coliseum.

Then, a time-consuming fourth-quarter drive featuring two third-down bootlegs for first downs by quarterback Jay Schroeder kept Denver from taking control of the AFC West as the Raiders held on for a 21-20 victory over the Broncos.

Townsend’s touchdown with 9:24 left in the third quarter gave the Raiders a 21-0 lead. However, the Raiders had hang on after the Broncos drew within one point on John Elway’s second touchdown pass to Clarence Kay with 10:13 remaining.

The Raiders clinched the victory by keeping the ball for all but the last 6 seconds of the last 7:29. After a Los Angeles punt, Elway’s desperation pass from the Denver 5-yard line was intercepted by Vann McElroy.

“It was the bootlegs that really got us,” said Denver nose tackle Greg Kragen. Until Schroeder’s first bootleg, Denver had held the Raiders without a first down in the second half.

“He hadn’t done it all game, and we just figured they’d try to run the ball three times up the middle against us,” Kragen said. “Then when he did it again, it surprised us again.”

The Raiders, Broncos and Seattle Seahawks, who lost to New England, 13-7, Sunday, all have 7-7 records in the National Football League’s weakest division with two games remaining.

The Raiders and Seahawks both control their destiny. Los Angeles plays at Buffalo next Sunday before playing host to Seattle Dec. 18. The Seahawks are home against Denver next Sunday and the Broncos finish at home Dec. 17 against New England.

The Raiders would win any tiebreaker with both Seattle and Denver if they beat the Seahawks in the finale.

“The situation was there when Denver got hot in the second half, but at the same time I thought we kept our poise,” Raider Coach Mike Shanahan said.

The Broncos must win their final two games and hope the Raiders lose once for them to have a chance to play in the Super Bowl for the third straight season.

“It was a tough, tough loss,” Denver Coach Dan Reeves said. “We’re not out of it yet. But we’ve certainly taken a big step backwards, as far as our chances are concerned. We’ve just got to come out the next 2 weeks and play as hard as we can.”

The Broncos were in a second-and-7 from the Raider 8-yard line when Townsend made his big play, his second touchdown in as many weeks. Last week, Townsend recovered a fumble in the Seattle end zone after Dave Krieg was sacked.

Elway threw a swing pass into the right flat intended for Steve Sewell. But Townsend, a 6-foot-3, 250-pound defensive end, stepped in front of Sewell, made the first interception of his 6-year NFL career and scored untouched, outrunning Elway into the end zone.

“Instinct just took over for me out there,” Townsend said. “I wasn’t supposed to be there in that defense, but I saw the back out in the flat and I just looked up and looked the ball into my hands.

“I always knew that Elway could scramble around back there, and I wanted to challenge him to a 40-yard dash. I guess that’s what happened this time.”

Reeves said Sewell was one of three receivers in the pattern.

“John had two guys over the middle and I think one of them was free,” Reeves said. “But he decided to throw to the running back. Townsend read it well. I don’t think John ever even saw him out there.”

The Raiders took a 7-0 lead on a 4-yard run by Bo Jackson, capping a 59-yard, 13-play drive the first time they had the ball. The march ate up 7:48 of play.

Schroeder, making his first start in six weeks, threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith with 1:44 left before halftime to make it 14-0. The Raiders needed only two plays to go 52 yards after Ron Fellows intercepted a pass by Elway at the Los Angeles 48-yard line.

After Townsend’s interception return, the Broncos fought back, getting field goals of 29 and 36 yards by Rich Karlis and a 6-yard touchdown pass from Elway to Kay before the third quarter was over, making it 21-13.

Sparked by a 63-yard pass from Elway to Mark Jackson, the Broncos went 93 yards on 7 plays to make it 21-20. On their next possession, the Broncos got as far as the Raider 44-yard line before punting with 7:29 left.

The Raiders, previously without a first down in the second half, then got four in nearly running out the clock. The Broncos had used two of their three second-half timeouts before the final Los Angeles possession.

Schroeder, who completed 10 of 19 passes for 131 yards, threw two touchdown passes to Smith on Sept. 26 when the Raiders overcame a 24-0 deficit at halftime to beat the Broncos 30-27 in overtime.

“Anytime you see Elway out there, you know the game is never safe,” Raiders linebacker Matt Millen said. “You know he had a terrible first half today, but you just can’t sit back and say ‘Well, he’s having a bad day.’

“In the second half, the way it was going, when he began getting hot, every time you saw him dropping back, you’d say, ‘Oh, no.’ ”

Elway completed 29 of 49 passes for 324 yards with 3 interceptions and was sacked 3 times.