NFL PLAYOFFS : Raider Mission Is to Three-Peat : AFC: They have beaten the Broncos twice, but without a victory today, their season is over.

Can they do it again?

Can the Raiders defeat the Denver Broncos in today’s wild-card playoff game at the Coliseum?

Can they beat the Broncos for the second consecutive week, third time this season, seventh time in a row at the Coliseum and ninth time in the last 10 meetings overall?

Usually, teams facing such games stick to business and avoid comments that might find their way onto the opposing team’s bulletin board. But the flow of words across the Rocky Mountains has been unusually strong this week.

Raider Coach Art Shell said he had heard that Denver quarterback John Elway had guaranteed a victory. Elway denied saying that.

Bronco Coach Wade Phillips was told that a San Francisco paper had quoted Raider owner Al Davis as saying the Broncos were scared of the Raiders. Phillips said he took that personally.

But once the ball is kicked off today, the flow of words will give way to the flow of adrenaline.

Today’s game figures to be close. Fourteen of the last 21 between the teams have been won by three or fewer points. Six of the games have gone into overtime.

Both games this season were decided by Jeff Jaeger field goals at the end, one with 16 seconds to play, the other in overtime.

So how does Shell explain his team’s mastery of Denver?

“It’s no mastery,” he said. “The players believe they’re going to win. It’s the players going out and getting it done. They believe, some kind of way, we are going to win against Denver.”

Phillips agrees.

“I do think the Raiders believe they are going to beat us,” he said. “But we believe we are going to beat them, so we’ll see what happens.”

Here are the key factors today:

--The quarterbacks: Any team that has John Elway for a big game has to feel good. After all, he is the architect of The Drive to the game-tying touchdown in the closing minutes of the AFC title game against the Cleveland Browns in 1987, a game the Broncos won in overtime. Elway has rallied his team to victory in the fourth quarter 32 times in his 11 NFL seasons, has put Denver into three Super Bowls and is coming off his best season.

But Jeff Hostetler has won a Super Bowl with the New York Giants and has had a super year with the Raiders.

Last week, he drove the Raiders in the closing minutes of regulation against the Broncos, a la Elway, and threw the tying touchdown pass to Alexander Wright as time ran out.

--The receivers: Can Denver shut down Tim Brown? Can the Raiders stop Shannon Sharpe?

Each has become the star receiver of his team. Each was nearly unstoppable last Sunday, Brown catching 11 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns, Sharpe six for 115 yards and two touchdowns.

Behind these headliners, however, the Raiders appear stronger. The Broncos’ Vance Johnson is sidelined because of a broken ankle suffered six weeks ago. Derek Russell and Sharpe have ankle injuries, but both are expected to play. Running back Rod Bernstine is sidelined because of a dislocated shoulder.

The Raiders, on the other hand, are deep. Wright and James Jett have the speed to outrun any defensive back. Ethan Horton has been dependable. And Rocket Ismail, although suffering from a sprained neck, also hopes to play.

--The running game: Neither team is going to throw any fear into opposing defenses.

Having lost Bernstine, the Broncos must depend on Robert Delpino, the former Ram, who is questionable because of a toe injury.

With the exception of Greg Robinson, who has had knee surgery, the Raiders are sound healthy at this position, but confused. Ty Montgomery starts at tailback, though he was rarely used until last week, when he gained a team-high 44 yards.

--The lines: The Raiders protected Hostetler last week, but, seven days earlier at Green Bay, they surrendered eight sacks. Protecting Hostetler is a Raider must.

Getting to Elway is another. The Raiders did it in the first meeting this season, sacking him seven times. But they couldn’t get to him last week.

--The kickers: Phillips can be excused for not wanting to see Jeff Jaeger ever again. The Raider kicker beat the Broncos in the first meeting this season with a 53-yard field goal at Mile High Stadium with 16 seconds to play.

Last week, Jaeger beat the Broncos again, with a 47-yard field goal in overtime.

Denver’s Jason Elam had a chance to win that game on the previous drive, but missed from 40 yards. He made 26 of 35 attempts and scored 119 points during the season, fourth in the AFC and most for a Bronco since 1989.

So who has the edge? The Raiders have momentum, the home field, fewer injuries and recent history.

But when these teams meet, the only safe assumption is that with the final seconds ticking away, the ball and the game probably will be up in the air.

Blackout Lifted

The television blackout for today’s Raider-Denver Bronco playoff game was lifted Saturday when Channel 4 purchased about 1,000 unsold tickets. Some of those tickets were returned for resale at the Coliseum beginning at 9 a.m. today.

The Raiders were granted a two-day extension to sell out the Coliseum after 14,000 tickets remained unsold at the original deadline of 1 p.m. Thursday.