The Sports Xchange

OAKLAND, Calif. — Another week, another defensive hero for the undefeated Denver Broncos.

This time cornerback Chris Harris Jr. returned an interception 74 yards for a touchdown with 6:53 left to play, leading the Broncos to a 16-10 victory against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday at the O.co Coliseum.

“Everybody’s itching to make that play,” Harris said. “It just happened to be my day. I made it today. Next week it will be somebody else. You never know who it’s going to be, but we’ve got a team full of play-makers on defense. If we got to win on D, we feel we can do it.”

The Broncos’ offense continued to struggle and didn’t score a single touchdown, but Harris finally got Denver into the end zone.

On third-and-5 from the Broncos’ 31, Denver had an all-out blitz, and Raiders quarterback Derek Carr tried to hit wide receiver Seth Roberts over the middle on a slant but threw behind him. Harris knifed in for the interception and raced untouched into the end zone, extending Denver’s 9-7 lead to 16-7.

“The great thing about our back end, when they get their hands on the ball they make plays, catching it, those kinds of things,” Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said. “Chris did it all week. He had about three or four picks in practice throughout the course of the week and then he makes a play like that.”

Sebastian Janikowski drilled a 50-yard field goal — on first-and-10 from the Broncos 32 — with 1:40 left, cutting Denver’s lead to six points. The Raiders attempted an onside kick, but Denver recovered.

Denver (5-0) beat the Raiders (2-3) for the eighth straight time. The Broncos won their 14th straight AFC West road game, an ongoing NFL record for divisional road victories.

Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning threw for 266 yards with two interceptions and defeated the Raiders for the 10th straight time, tying his career high for victories against an opponent. He’s also defeated Kansas City 10 straight times. Denver wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders caught nine passes for 111 yards.

“It’s a good win anytime when you win on the road in the division,” Manning said. “Obviously, when you break it down offensively, defensively — we didn’t do what we needed to do offensively. Got to do a better job.”

Raiders free safety Charles Woodson had his 63rd and 64th career interceptions — his first two against Manning. He picked off a Manning pass late in the first half in the end zone and another one late in the third quarter at the Raiders’ 37. He moved into a tie for sixth on the NFL’s all-time interception list with Ed Reed.

Woodson, Manning and Indianapolis Colts backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck are the last active players from the 1998 NFL draft.

“I really don’t even want to talk about the interceptions just because of the fact that we did lose the game,” Woodson said. “I knew it was a big deal all week about that aspect of it but it’s never about that. Those things are the shiny things, the shiny toys that you like, but it’s about wins and losses. Our mission is to win our division and the only way we can do that is to beat the team that’s won it the last few years. Today we dropped the ball on that.”

The Broncos’ defense held the Raiders to 288 yards and one touchdown. They picked off two passes, forced a fumble and sacked Carr four times, giving them 22 sacks for the season.

“Just how the first five games have been,” Harris said. “Been able to win on defense. Offense, they’re going to get started clicking.”

What we learned about the Broncos:

1. Their defense is ranked No. 1 in the NFL for a reason. Denver held the Raiders to 288 yards, one touchdown and 10 points Sunday. The Broncos sacked Derek Carr four times, intercepted two passes and forced two fumbles, recovering one. The Broncos have allowed an average of 15.8 points per game, which is why they’re still undefeated despite struggling mightily on offense.

2. Their winning streak might not last long unless quarterback Peyton Manning and company chip in more. The Broncos didn’t score a single touchdown on offense Sunday but still beat Oakland 16-10. “We got to play a hell of a lot better,” Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said. “It starts with me, the offensive coaches. We got to get better offensively. The sad thing is we do some good stuff and we don’t finish anything. That’s what’s disappointing. Then it all keeps going back to (Manning). That’s not fair. We got to get better running the football, got to get better protecting him. If we do those things then we’ll play better offensively. Obviously we’re very, very fortunate right now. I think we’re playing hard, just not playing very good.”

3. Denver’s sack attack is much more than just DeMarcus Ware and Von MIller. Denver has 22 sacks, and 11 Broncos have at least one sack. That’s a good thing considering Ware, who entered Sunday’s game against Oakland with an NFL high 4 1/2 sacks, left the game in the second quarter with a back injury and didn’t return. Miller had a strip-sack of Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, setting up a field goal. He has three sacks for the season. Defensive end Malik Jackson and linebackers Shaquil Barrett and Shane Ray each had one sack of Carr.

Etc.:

–QB Peyton Manning threw for 266 yards with two interceptions and touchdowns Sunday, but he defeated the Raiders for the 10th straight time, tying his career high for victories against an opponent. He’s also defeated Kansas City 10 straight times.

–CB Chris Harris Jr. returned an interception 74 yards for a touchdown with 6:53 left to play Sunday in Denver’s 16-10 victory against the Oakland Raiders. “Everybody’s itching to make that play,” Harris said. “It just happened to be my day. I made it today. Next week it will be somebody else. You never know who it’s going to be, but we’ve got a team full of play-makers on defense. If we got to win on D, we feel we can do it.” The interception was Harris’ second of the season and 13th of his career.

–WR Emmanuel Sanders caught nine passes for 111 yards — both season highs — Sunday against Oakland. He has 34 catches for 418 yards and two TDs this season. Last year Sanders caught 101 passes for 1,404 yards and nine scores.

–DE DeMarcus Ware left the game Sunday against Oakland in the second quarter with a back injury and did not return. “His back locked up on him so we’re obviously concerned about him,” Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said.