Broncos Rally Against Raiders 38-24

OAKLAND (AP) — If the Denver Broncos can keep running the ball like this, they won't need to rely much on Tim Tebow's arm to win games.

Eddie Royal returned a punt 85 yards for the tiebreaking score, Willis McGahee ran for 163 yards and Tebow threw two touchdown passes to lead the Denver Broncos to a 38-24 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

McGahee had a 60-yard touchdown run that tied the game on the first play after Carson Palmer threw his second interception for the Raiders (4-4) and then added a 24-yarder to ice it in the closing minutes.

The Broncos (3-5) didn't allow the Raiders' offense to generate anything in the fourth quarter and won for the second time in three games with Tebow as the starter.

Tebow did much of his damage with his legs, rushing for a career-high 117 yards on 12 carries on many of the same type of option keepers that made him so successful in college. But he did enough damage with his arm to keep the Raiders honest, throwing touchdowns to Eric Decker and Royal.

Tebow finished 10 for 21 for 124 yards, but didn't need to do much on a day Denver ran for 298 yards — its highest total since a 300-yard game against Seattle in 2000 and the Broncos' most ever against the Raiders.

Palmer looked much better in his first start with the Raiders than in his debut two weeks ago in a relief effort against Kansas City when he threw three second-half interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown in a 28-0 loss five days after he joined the team.

With a bye week and this past week to get acclimated to his new team, Palmer showed why Oakland dealt a 2012 first-round draft pick and a conditional 2013 second-rounder to Cincinnati to acquire Palmer after starter Jason Campbell broke his collarbone.

Palmer was 18 for 34 for 312 yards with three touchdowns. But he threw three more interceptions, including one that provided a sudden change of momentum in the closing seconds of the third quarter.

With the Raiders in Denver territory, Palmer threw high to Denarius Moore and Chris Harris intercepted the deflected ball. McGahee then ran through a big hole up the middle and outraced the Oakland defense for a 60-yard score. It tied the game on his longest run since a 77-yarder in Oakland in the 2009 season finale for Baltimore.

The Broncos then took the lead in the fourth quarter after Oakland punted on fourth-and-inches from its 29. Royal caught Shane Lechler's punt at the 15 and ran untouched to the end zone to give the Broncos a 31-24 lead with 5:53 remaining.

Tebow did little in the first half besides two big plays on one drive. First he ran 32 yards on an option keeper when former teammate Jarvis Moss bit on a fake. Then Tebow hit Decker on a 27-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-3. Tebow missed his share of open receivers but didn't miss Decker, who badly beat Michael Huff on a post route.

The Raiders capitalized on a botched punt to regain the lead. Britton Colquitt couldn't handle the low snap from Lonie Paxton and threw the ball away to avoid a sack in the end zone. That gave the Raiders a first down at the Denver 14 and Palmer found Michael Bush on an 11-yard score for his first TD with the Raiders.

Palmer bounced back from an interception later in the second quarter with his best pass as a Raider, threading a 40-yard touchdown pass to fullback Marcel Reece, who was tightly covered by linebacker D.J. Williams.

There was an ugly finish to the first half. Oakland's Taiwan Jones committed penalties on back-to-back field goal tries. Matt Prater missed the first from 53 yards when Jones was offside, and then made a 48-yarder before Jones was called for roughing the kicker. Denver coach John Fox took the points off the board to have first down at the 20 with 17 seconds remaining.

But Prater missed wide left from 43 yards and Denver trailed 17-7 at the break.

(Copyright 2011 The Associated Press)