Raiders Win Survival of Footest : Pro football: Jaeger’s 47-yard kick puts L.A. in playoffs, 33-30, after Hostetler’s touchdown pass at the end of regulation and Elam’s 40-yard miss in overtime.

Sudden death? The Raiders faced it all day Sunday, from the first minute to the 67th, from the game-opening coin toss to the overtime toss.

Yet, there they were in the seventh minute of the fifth quarter of their 16th game in their 18th week of play, and they weren’t dead yet.

At 4:36 Sunday afternoon, almost every seat in the Coliseum remained filled. And the Raiders were still out there, trying to beat the Denver Broncos in sudden-death overtime of their regular-season finale to give themselves new life in the postseason.

Every eye was on Jeff Jaeger, who already had kicked three field goals Sunday and a team record 34 this season, who already had beaten the Broncos once this season with a game-winning kick in the closing seconds, and was now attempting to do it again from 47 yards away.

It was so quiet in the Coliseum, you could almost hear the Broncos’ hearts drop when Jaeger calmly connected, getting his full foot on a ball that sailed smoothly between the uprights and into the setting sun above the closed end of the Coliseum, enabling the Raiders to rise again and return to the playoffs after missing out last season.

Even before Jaeger’s kick had bounced off the protective screen, the noise returned, from the crowd and on the field, the sounds of ultimate elation and celebration as Jaeger disappeared in a sea of silver and black.

“You don’t have time to think about it,” a smiling Jaeger said. “If you let it go through your head, you shouldn’t be out there.”

With an improbable 33-30 victory before an ecstatic sellout crowd of 66,904, the Raiders, led by Jaeger, quarterback Jeff Hostetler (25 of 41 for 310 yards and three touchdowns) and receiver Tim Brown (a career-high 11 catches for 173 yards and two touchdowns) not only won a playoff spot, but also the right to play host to their first game. The Raiders will again face the Broncos next Sunday afternoon at the Coliseum in a first-round, wild-card game.

Nail-biting finish? In the locker room afterward, many of the Raiders exuded confidence. They had appeared dead so many times this season and so many times on Sunday alone, they seemed to believe nothing would stop them from beating Denver.

The Raiders already had survived despite a victory by the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier in the day, a result that was announced soon after the opening kickoff. A Steeler loss would have automatically given the Raiders a playoff berth.

The Raiders had survived injuries earlier in the game to receiver/kick returner Rocket Ismail (strained neck), running back Randy Jordan (concussion) and defensive lineman Nolan Harrison (leg). Only Harrison returned.

The Raiders had survived despite falling behind the Broncos, 27-13, at the half and 30-13 in the third quarter.

The Raiders had survived despite coming down to the final play of regulation needing a touchdown to tie. They got it on a four-yard scoring pass from Hostetler to Alexander Wright.

The Raiders had survived despite losing the coin toss for the overtime.

The Raiders had survived despite an opportunity for a game-winning field goal by Jason Elam in overtime. Elam’s 40-yard kick was wide left.

“I can’t say enough about how proud I am of these guys,” Coach Art Shell said, when it was finally over.

“This was our day,” Hostetler said.

Not at the beginning it wasn’t.

Ismail was injured on the opening kickoff, Harrison on the first play from scrimmage, and Jordan in the first quarter.

And the Steelers already had won.

Reeling from the bad news, the Raiders appeared headed for the knockout blow that would end their season when the Broncos jumped on them early.

Elam’s field goals of 52 and 24 yards, and a 27-yard touchdown pass from John Elway to Cedric Tillman gave Denver a 13-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Hostetler responded with a four-yard touchdown pass to Brown. But Elway answered with a 54-yard scoring pass to Shannon Sharpe, and Denver, losers of seven of the last eight against the Raiders and five in a row at the Coliseum before Sunday, was ahead, 20-7.

After Jaeger’s 43-yard field goal, Elway and Sharpe connected on another scoring pass play, this one from a yard out, and the Broncos, appeared to have control at 27-10.

Only 24 seconds remained in the half when Hostetler got the ball at the Raider 36. He connected on three consecutive passes to set up Jaeger, who came through with a 50-yard field goal on the final play.

Still, the Raiders appeared to be in trouble. They would need more than 27 points to win, a total they hadn’t exceeded all season. With Greg Robinson already out with a knee injury, the loss of Jordan would further hamper a running game that had accounted for 31 yards in the first half.

And Elway and Sharpe were destroying the Raiders’ secondary, having connected on four passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns.

Then Elam opened the third quarter with a 27-yard field goal to extend the Broncos’ lead to 30-13. It was Denver’s sixth possession and the sixth score.

And the last. Denver was not heard from again.

But the Raiders were only getting started.

Hostetler and Brown combined on a 24-yard touchdown pass to make it 30-20 heading into the fourth quarter.

Jaeger kicked a 39-yard field goal to make it 30-23 with 9:33 to play.

With 2:59 remaining in regulation, Hostetler took over at the Raider 30.

With 17 seconds left, the Raiders had a first and goal at the Bronco four.

A pass to Ethan Horton was incomplete.

A pass to Jett was just out of the back of the end zone.

Finally, Hostetler faded back for the last play in regulation. Perhaps the last play this season.

He looked left. Brown was covered. James Jett was covered. Than he look right. Wright had shed his defender for an instant and was standing at the goal line.

That was all Hostetler needed. He fired. Wright dove into the end zone.

The clock showed 0:00.

Wright showed the crowd the ball.

The Raiders weren’t dead yet.

Raider Notes

Tim Brown set a Raider record for wide receivers with 80 catches for the season. . . . With 15 points Sunday, Jeff Jaeger finished with a team-record 132.