Elway’s Status Still Up in Air : Pro football: Bronco quarterback has been limping, but Raiders expect him to play in today’s game.

The biggest moment in today’s Denver Bronco-Raider game might take place before the opening kickoff. The biggest snap Denver quarterback John Elway takes might be before the Raiders are even on the field.

Elway, the heart, soul and offense of the Broncos since 1983, is questionable for today’s game at the Coliseum because of a strained muscle in his left knee, an injury that forced him out of last Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth quarter.

Elway says he’ll make his final decision during the pregame warm-up. The Raiders say they expect him to play. Yes, they know he didn’t practice until Friday. Yes, they know he was still limping noticeably. But they wouldn’t believe he won’t be there if they saw him in a body cast. Football teams prefer to prepare for the worst.

If Elway can’t go, his place will be taken by veteran Hugh Millen, who came on last week to lead the Broncos to an overtime victory over Kansas City, even though he completed only five of 13 passes for 37 yards. That’s a long step down from Elway.

That victory brings Denver into town with a 7-6 record. The Raiders, also 7-6, thought they had left the Broncos for dead the last time they played. As the Raiders left Denver in September with a 48-16 victory that left the Broncos 0-3, Coach Wade Phillips was facing a lynch mob.

Three months later, the Raiders must feel as if they are seeing a ghost.

Here comes Phillips, who turned his critics into cheering fans by leading the Broncos to seven victories in nine games, including four in a row, to put them solidly back into the race for a playoff spot.

Elway’s absence or inability to perform at his normal level might curtail Denver’s resurrection. But how did Phillips and his crew manage to get even this far back?

Defense.

For a long time, it seemed as if the Broncos felt they could get by without much in the way of defenders. They spent the months before the season opener stocking their offense with new toys for Elway--receivers Anthony Miller and Mike Pritchard and running back Leonard Russell.

As for the defense, Denver refused to re-sign expensive veterans such as linebacker Karl Mecklenburg and safety Dennis Smith. Phillips joked that his team would have to win games, 38-35.

But nobody was laughing when the Broncos lost their first four, including that humiliation by the Raiders.

After that loss, the Broncos figured maybe they could use Smith after all.

Smith, who played at USC and lives in Los Angeles, watched the debacle against the Raiders from his home.

“I was frustrated,” he said, “because I knew I could help this team, and I wasn’t being given the opportunity.”

The Broncos called the day after the dismal defeat to their hated rivals.

“I think it was the loss to the Raiders,” Smith said. “That had a lot to do with it. I think if we had won that game, I would not have been called back. So I thank the Raiders for contributing to bringing me back.”

After today, the Raiders might say, thanks, but no thanks.

Smith and Mecklenburg, who was signed just before the season opener, have provided the leadership the Denver defense lacked.

“They’re not the Pro Bowl players they were as far as their impact on the game,” Phillips said, “but I think the one thing that really helped me was that these two guys knew I was trying to do the right thing and they would stand behind me.

“When we had such a bad start, they came in and said, ‘Believe in what the coach is telling you. We’ve played for him a long time, and we know what he is saying is right. If you keep trying to do the right thing, things will work out.’ Having those guys to back you up helped as much as anything.”

Mecklenburg and Smith have also made their presence felt on the field.

The Broncos might not have pulled out last week’s overtime victory over the Chiefs had it not been for them. With Kansas City on the Denver 20-yard line in overtime, within range to try a game-winning field goal, Mecklenburg forced Marcus Allen to fumble. Smith recovered and the Broncos won, 20-17.

The Denver defense hasn’t soared in the rankings since the turnaround. The Broncos remain last in the league, having given up 4,667 yards.

But they maintain that they started off so poorly that they can never catch up statistically.

There is a marked difference, however, on the scoreboard. After giving up 137 points in its first four games, Denver has given up 164 points in the last nine.

The biggest changes have been: blitzing more with the linebackers, freeing the safeties to blitz by having the cornerbacks play man-to-man, and switching safeties, with Smith going to free safety and Steve Atwater to strong safety.

“We’re just trying to get Steve more involved closer to the line of scrimmage,” Phillips said.

Whatever Denver does, Raider quarterback Jeff Hostetler has to be rubbing his hands at the thought of another afternoon against the Broncos. In four games as a Raider against the Broncos, he has completed 63.2% of his passes for 1,206 yards and 12 touchdowns with no interceptions.

The Raider dominance over Denver began long before Hostetler arrived. The Raiders have beaten the Broncos seven consecutive times at the Coliseum and 10 of 11 overall.

The Raiders beat the Broncos in the regular-season finale last year to get into the playoffs, beat them a week later in the first round of the postseason, beat them in the preseason at Barcelona and then administered what looked like a knockout blow in September.

Raider Notes

Cornerback Lionel Washington and tailback Ty Montgomery were not activated for the game. . . . Bronco end Shannon Sharpe, the team’s leading receiver, has a swollen knee and sore ankles but is expected to play.