PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : RAIDERS : Brown Is All-Time Punt Return Leader

When their first series of the second half against the Raiders fizzled Sunday, the San Diego Chargers punted, John Kidd sending the ball 53 yards.

Tim Brown caught it at the Raider 31 and took it eight yards at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, making him the top punt returner in club history. Brown has a career total of 1,765 yards in 178 returns. Neal Colzie, a Raider from 1975-78, had 1,747 yards in 168 punt returns.

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Veteran defensive lineman Howie Long, who had two sacks in Sunday’s 12-7 victory over the Chargers, was quick to caution the younger players not to read too much into the victory, which leaves the Raiders (6-4) tied for second place in the AFC West with the Denver Broncos, a game behind the division-leading Kansas City Chiefs.

“Anybody who goes home thinking we’ve won a Super Bowl,” Long said, “needs to have a conversation with somebody who knows something.”

In his 13 years in the league, Long has learned how to keep his emotions in check in an up-and-down season like this one.

“What people forget,” Long said, “is that we have some 23- and 24-year-olds who have to learn how to deal with prosperity and adversity. It’s been a learning experience on the job for some.”

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Both running Greg Robinson and linebacker Joe Kelly suffered ankle sprains Sunday, but neither is believed to be seriously injured.