Broncos vs. Raiders – First Half Open Thread

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2:47 – FG is good, 17-3 Broncos. 18 seconds left in the half.

2:45 – 3rd and 7, and the Broncos fail to convert (barely) after a Selvin Young run. Jason Elam, don’t blow it buddy.

2:42 – Two minute warning after a 21-yard Travis Henry run. The Broncos are threatening at the Oakland 13 yard line.

2:37 – Nice 3 and out, defense. Let’s separate this thing and show the men in black they’re not any better yet.

2:30 – Selvin Young, you are da man. Huge run, then a good play by Walker. A pass interference call later, and Cecil Sapp has a Denver touchdown with 7:34 left in the half. TOUCHDOWN!!

2:24 – Serious “dee dee dee” moment on my part. Didn’t realize I was listening to 2-minute delayed coverage through Sirius (forgot to fast forward after I rewound earlier). It’s 7-3 after the Oakland field goal.

2:22 – 3rd and 5, and you would hope the Broncos defense could stop the Raiders right there. But a 20-yard plus scramble by Josh McCown later, and the Raiders are seriously threatening.

2:18 – TE Daniel Graham‘s 9 yard reception kick-starts this game, but now Cutler throws a pick. Then a fumble… it looked like Denver had gotten it back, but the Raiders recover and it will be Raiders football 3 yards into Denver territory. Time for the defense to make another stand.

2:14 – Players march back onto the field. Woo hoo!

2:13 – Storm should pass through within 15 minutes… which mean the game should resume fairly shortly. I know there are between 20 and 30 readers viewing this at any given time, so get in on the action during the break! Post a thought, question, and I’ll be sure to reply.

2:06 – Around the NFL – Bears lead the Chiefs 14-0 after the big punt return. Could be a long day for the Chiefs (and for the Raiders, we hope). Cardinals lead Seahawks 10-0, but as anyone who lives in Arizona knows this mean jack crap this early in the game. MIN-DET tied at 7, MIA-DAL tied at 3, and Baltimore leads Jets 10-3. Earlier, the Browns, Bucs and Texans pulled upsets, and the Niners eeked out a win in St. Louis. Still waiting for the storm to pass…

2:02 – The Bears’ Deven Hester just returned a punt return against the Chiefs, and now lead Kansas City 14-0 (pending PAT).

1:58 – Radio sideline reporter: “Once they clear the players off the field, it is a minimum of 10 minutes that they have to wait for the storm to pass. It could be as short as 10 minutes, it could be as long as it takes.” Ugh. I’ll give you some cool stats in the mean time.

1:52 – Are the Chargers sending us vodoo hate mail? Lightning bolts are causing a delay of game until the referees declare otherwise. Must be serious… weather report this morning was definitely misguided (“Partly Cloudy”, eh?). When the game restarts it will be Broncos, 1st and 10 on the Denver 37 yard line.

1:49 – Third and long, MARCUS THOMAS ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!! INTERCEPTION BY OUR BACK-FLIPPING DT!!

1:45 – First quarter comes to an end, Raiders putting together an interesting drive. Broncos lead 7-0.

1:35 – 1Q – TOUCHDOWN!! Cutler to Brandon Stokley, extra point is good! 7-0 Broncos.

1:34 – 1Q (5:18) – Mike Bell‘s illegal formation blows a touchdown run by Jay Cutler. 3rd down.

1:26 – 1Q (9:30) – Champ Bailey with the big pick on the Raiders’ second drive! We’re now on the Raider 29 yard line, and need to get in the end zone to shake off our red zone rust!

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Post your thoughts on the first half of the game here! Let’s go, Broncos, time to get a win!

UPDATES – INACTIVE LIST – CB Domonique Foxworth and DE Tim Crowder headline the list of inactives today. I was hoping to see T Crow in action, but alas… other inactives include RB Andre Hall (sorry, Jon), G Ben Hamilton, T Ryan Harris, DT Alvin McKinley, LB Jamie Winborn. Finishing off the list is WR Brian Clark, which I don’t understand since he has shown me more as a returner than Domenik Hixon did last week.

Josh McCown was not placed on the inactive list for Oakland, who knows what that means… kickoff in 10 minutes, get your game faces on Broncos fans!!

AROUND THE NFL – I *knew* I should have pulled the trigger on the Texans in my pick ems. Way to go Gary Kubiak, leading the Panthers 31-14 as of now (I’m writing this at 12:40). Close games in St. Louis, Cleveland, and Tennessee, with the first two up, barely, and the Titans trailing by 2. And the Saints… talk about a free fall.