Raiders’ Hostetler Disarms Critics, 48-16 : Pro football: After poor performances in his first two games, he passes for 338 yards and four touchdowns against the Broncos.

Sore arm? Sick offense? Sad defense?

The Raiders put the rumors to rest, the obituaries on hold and the critics on mute for at least a week by breaking out of their season-opening slump with a long-awaited offensive explosion Sunday at Mile High Stadium, beating the Denver Broncos, 48-16, before a disgruntled crowd of 75,764.

When the Raiders stumbled out of the starting blocks, losing their first two games by a combined score of 82-23, much of the criticism and speculation centered on quarterback Jeff Hostetler, who seemed as if he had forgotten how to throw a spiral. He kept denying there was anything physically wrong with his arm.

After Sunday, who can argue?

Hostetler, looking every bit the quarterback who led the Raiders back to the playoffs last season, completed 21 of 33 passes for 338 yards and four touchdowns.

The Raiders opened a 21-3 first-quarter lead, surpassing their previous season point total with 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter. They went on to score their highest overall total since beating the Atlanta Falcons, 50-19, in a 1979 game at the Oakland Coliseum. The 32-point margin of victory was the widest since the Raiders beat the Chargers, 42-10, in a 1983 game at San Diego.

The Raiders scored on their first four possessions Sunday. They scored on the ground, through the air, on field goals and off an interception.

Hostetler went to Ty Montgomery on a 65-yard touchdown pass play, Tim Brown on a 43-yarder, Andrew Glover on a seven-yarder and Harvey Williams on a five-yarder.

Asked after the game if he had had a sore arm, Hostetler simply smiled and asked for another question.

“I take the blame,” he said of the poor start. “I don’t have any excuses.”

His coach, Art Shell, offered one anyway.

“I might have screwed him up,” Shell said of his quarterback, “by not giving him enough playing time in the preseason. But I never lost faith in him. He’s going to be the quarterback here for many years to come.”

Part of Hostetler’s problem was the pressure he has faced over the last couple of weeks. The Raiders failed to generate a running game, enabling the defense to concentrate on the quarterback. And once the Raiders fell behind, they were forced to stay in the air.

The Raiders rushed only 14 times last week, only 34 times over the two games.

Shell had vowed to change that and he made good on his promise from the start Sunday.

The Raiders rushed on their first five plays and never slowed down, winding up with 30 carries for 102 yards. Montgomery led the way with 53 yards and a 4.1-yard-per-carry average.

Williams scored the game’s opening touchdown on a two-yard run.

“Too many people put it all on the tailback,” Montgomery said. “We have to get the ball to get the feel of it. We fell so far behind in those other games, we had to get away from the running game. People put so much (criticism) on us, they did not give us much of a chance.”

If the Raiders were going to break out of the doldrums that had threatened to end their season before it started, it figured that the turnaround would come against the Broncos.

The Raiders have dominated this rivalry of late even in the best of times. And right now, Denver is going through the worst of times.

The club is 0-3 for the first time since 1968, and the fans and Denver media are howling for Coach Wade Phillips’ job.

How bad has it gotten?

When Hugh Millen took the field in the fourth quarter to replace quarterback John Elway, the fans cheered.

Cheered the exit of Elway? That has to be a first.

They also booed him while he was on the field.

“That’s the worst I’ve ever heard Mile High,” he conceded.

It was the most points Denver has given up in a home game since a 56-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in 1966 when Bears Stadium was Denver’s home turf.

Ironically, the Broncos, taking part in the NFL’s 75th anniversary celebration, were wearing replica uniforms from the 1966 season.

Guess they won’t be wearing those again.

But it will take more than a uniform change to turn around a club woefully weak on defense.

“This is certainly the low point for me,” Phillips said. “I’m worried about the team at this point. I’m not worried about myself.”

The Broncos scored on a 43-yard field goal by Jason Elam and runs of four and one yard by Leonard Russell.

But after field goals of 42 and 33 yards by Jeff Jaeger had boosted the Raiders into a 41-16 lead, the coup de grace was supplied by Terry McDaniel.

From the Denver 10-yard line, Elway threw a pass intended for Jeff Campbell. Instead, McDaniel batted it, bobbled it, then hung on and danced along a clear path to the end zone to close out the scoring.

It was the third consecutive week Elway had a pass picked off for a touchdown.

The Raider defense also sacked Elway four times, safety Eddie Anderson getting two of those, and recovered a pair of Denver fumbles.

The victory was the Raiders’ fourth in a row over Denver, fifth in a row if last year’s playoff victory is included, and ninth in the last 10 regular-season meetings between the two clubs.

“There’s just something about the Bronco defense,” Brown said, “that brings out the best in the Raider offense.”

And there’s something in Hostetler that brings out the best in Brown.

The Raider receiver had a career season last year with the arrival of Hostetler.

With the Raider quarterback slumping the first two games, Brown caught a total of 11 passes for 103 yards.

Sunday, he caught seven for 136 yards and the touchdown.

Were the Raiders breathing a sigh of relief after Sunday’s victory?

“Not yet,” Brown said. “We can’t breathe easy yet. We’ve still got a long way to go.”