BRONCOS 31, RAIDERS 21 : Elway Returns to Full Throttle : Bronco Quarterback Gets Running Attack in Gear

At first, it was vintage John Elway.

The Denver Broncos’ quarterback ran for a touchdown and threw for two more in a 31-21 victory over the Raiders Sunday at Mile High Stadium.

Elway scrambled for a 29-yard touchdown run on the Broncos’ first possession.

“It wasn’t a designed play, but John has the option of running any time he sees fit,” Bronco running back Sammy Winder said. “And it was wide open for him today.”

Indeed.

Pressured by the Raider pass rush, Elway ran out of the pocket, eluded defender Greg Townsend and dashed to the end zone. Elway pumped his right arm in celebration as he was mobbed by teammates.

“Once I got to about the 10-yard line I saw that the end zone was open,” Elway said. “I didn’t even think about sliding (to avoid being tackled). It was open and I was going to go for it.

“I got away from running last year, but I’m going to keep doing it. Today I made some plays that I haven’t made in quite a while. I’ve still got some things I’ve got to do but I’m getting back to my old style.”

Denver Coach Dan Reeves doesn’t like Elway’s old style.

Although Elway is one of the best running quarterbacks in the National Football League, Reeves cringes every time Elway takes off.

“When John gets out of the pocket nobody runs any better than John does,” Reeves said. “He was hard to bring down. He was breaking an awful lot of tackles.

“But the thing I’m disappointed in is that we’ve got to quit having him run. I’m not sure he has confidence that we’re going to protect him.”

Whether Reeves likes it or not, Elway is going to keep on running.

“It (scrambling) is part of my game,” Elway said. “I’ve thought about it and I’ve stayed away from it, but four of the five (interceptions) I’ve thrown this year have been on plays where I usually would have run.”

Elway also passed well in the first half, hitting five of eight passes for 99 yards, including touchdowns of 46 and 11 yards to wide receiver Mark Jackson.

Elway was on target to Jackson on his first touchdown pass, putting the ball between two defensive backs at the goal line.

Jackson thinks Elway is throwing better this season than he did last year when he had elbow and shoulder injuries.

“I think injuries bugged him last year,” Jackson said. “This year he’s not injured. That’s the difference.”

Elway had to improvise on the second touchdown pass because of some confusion. But Jackson broke off his pass pattern and Elway eluded Raider defender Mike Wise to find Jackson in the end zone.

“I got the wrong play from the sideline,” Elway said. “When Dan signaled in the play I thought it was something else. And the Raiders had it covered because they were in a zone. But Mark did a good job of breaking his route off.

“Mark does a good job of getting open and he has great instincts for finding the open spot. That makes him a great target on broken plays.”

Elway didn’t see the end of the play.

“I got hit after I threw it,” Elway said. “I was waiting for the crowd reaction, but once I heard the screams I was pretty happy.”

Jackson said Elway also did a good job of improvising.

“We saw a weakness in their defense and John looked the guy off to the backside and I ran a post,” Jackson said. “The Raiders were in double coverage and John got it to me.”

In the second half Elway had his problems.

Elway set up two Raider touchdowns with an interception and a fumble.

Raider cornerback Lionel Washington intercepted an Elway pass and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter and Linden King returned an Elway fumble 11 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown.

Although he played an extraordinary first half, Elway was disappointed.

“When you do some good things offensively and some lousy things the only thing you remember are the lousy things,” Elway said.

Leading, 28-0, at halftime, Elway and the Broncos turned conservative in the second half.

After accumulating 195 yards of total offense in the first half, Denver had 98 yards in the second half. Elway completed only six of 15 passes for 33 yards in the second half.

Were the Broncos too conservative?

“We weren’t trying to be conservative,” Elway said. “We felt good about what we were doing in the first half and tried to stay with it in the second half. But the Raiders had nothing to lose and they showed us some new stuff in the second half on defense.”