The Raiders punted following a third consecutive three-and-out, and safety Jim Leonhard’s strong return combined with a 15-yard facemask penalty gave Denver possession at their own 37-yard line.

Demaryius Thomas caught a pass on the first play of the drive, and an open-field cut along with a stiff arm helped him pick up 25 yards.

Another big play followed, as Willis McGahee rushed up the middle for 24 yards to the Oakland 14-yard line.

Two plays later, on a third down, Manning found running back Lance Ball wide open in the middle of the field, and Ball ran it in for a touchdown.

Ball’s score was Denver’s third touchdown of the half and Manning’s third touchdown pass of the game. It marks the 65th time Manning has thrown for a trio of scores in his career. Only Brett Favre (72) has more in NFL history.

The Broncos lead 31-6 inside the four-minute mark of the third quarter.

The drive took five plays to move 63 plays in 1:36 of game clock.

The Denver defense once again forced an Oakland three-and-out. On third down, the defense almost came up with a turnover as safety Mike Adams nearly caught an interception. But the fourth-down result proved to be more beneficial for the Broncos, as safety David Bruton deflected the Raiders’ punt, giving Denver possession on the Raiders’ 18-yard line.

Willis McGahee then carried the ball four straight times, with the fourth taking him into the end zone for the score.

The touchdown and extra point give Denver a 24-6 lead in the third quarter.

McGahee now has 14 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown, which is the 62nd touchdown of his career. That total is the fourth-most in the NFL since he entered the league in 2004.

The Denver defense forced an Oakland three-and-out in the opening possession of the second half, giving the Broncos the ball on their own 21-yard line.

Willis McGahee got touches on three of the next four plays – two rushes and a reception — as Denver moved out to the 46-yard line.

From the 46, rookie running back Ronnie Hillman picked up the biggest gain of his career after catching a short pass and scampering down the middle of the field for 29 yards.

Two plays later, Peyton Manning hit wideout Eric Decker, who sprinted down the right sideline and into the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown. Fellow wide receiver Demaryius Thomas threw a key block on the play to clear the way for Decker.

Matt Prater kicked the extra point to make it 17-6, Broncos.

Following the touchdown drive, Manning is 22-of-27 through the air for 254 yards and two touchdowns – good for a passer rating of 130.6.

Decker has five catches for 47 yards and a touchdown, his first of the year.

Following the Broncos’ failed fake field goal try, the Raiders took over at their own 36-yard line with just more than three minutes left in the first half.

Three Darren McFadden touches and an 8-yard completion to fullback Marcel Reese put Oakland at midfield.

Defensive end Elvis Dumverfil hit quarterback Carson Palmer on consecutive plays, but Palmer still completed both passes.

From there, Carson Palmer hit wide receiver Denarius Moore for a 37-yard pickup, moving the Oakland offense to the 13-yard line.

McFadden carried the ball the next two plays to pick up a total of 7 yards, leading to an Oakland third-down play which ended in an incomplete pass with tight coverage from safety Mike Adams, bringing out Sebastian Janikowski for his second field goal attempt of the game.

Janikowski converted on the 24-yard attempt inside the final minute of the half, bringing the Raiders to within four points by a score of 10-6.

Peyton Manning kneeled the ball to end the half.

Willis McGahee leads all ballcarries with 40 yards rushing on eight carries. He also has four catches, tied for a game-high, for 17 yards.

Both quarterbacks had strong halves. Manning has thrown only five incompletions on 22 attempts, totaling 196 passing yards and a touchdown. Seven Broncos caught a pass in the first half.

Carson Palmer was 9-of-13 in the half for 142 yards.

The Denver defense held McFadden to 23 yards rushing on nine carries and also limited the Oakland offense to 1-of-6 on third-down plays, while the Broncos were 4-of-8 on third down.

The Raiders will receive to open the second half.

On a third-down handoff to rookie running back Ronnie Hillman, center J.D. Walton suffered an ankle injury and has been ruled out for the game.

Recently signed center Dan Koppen is listed as Walton’s backup.

For further injury updates, check back to this blog.

The Broncos’ second possession was hindered at first by a pair of offensive penalties – a false start and an illegal formation penalty.

Following the penalties, tight end Jacob Tamme provided a highlight-reel play with a one-handed catch over the middle of the field to pick up 10 yards. The catch was Tamme’s second grab of 10 yards on the possession.

After the Tamme one-hander, Peyton Manning scrambled and found wideout Demaryius Thomas for a first down and a 23-yard catch-and-run.

A play later, wide receiver Andre Caldwell got his first touch of the year. Caldwell took the pitch on an end around and picked up a first down with a 14-yard dash down the right sideline, moving the Broncos inside the red zone.

Next, Manning hit wideout Eric Decker for a 9-yard pickup, which was Manning’s 11th straight completion. Running back Willis McGahee carried the ball following the completion to Decker, and picked up a first down to set Denver up with first-and-goal from the Oakland 4-yard line.

The drive stalled from there, however. Manning hit McGahee in the flat on first down, but the back was stopped short of the goal line.

Two incompletions followed — the first intended for Decker and the second batted down at the line of scrimmage.

That brought kicker Matt Prater out, who converted on a 21-yard field goal try. The kick gives the Broncos a 10-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Raiders’ responded to the Broncos game-opening touchdown drive by moving the ball to the Denver 21-yard line, but the defense was able to hold the Raiders to a field goal.

Oakland picked up their biggest chunk of yardage on a pass from quarterback Carson Palmer to fullback Marcel Reese, which went for 31 yards and moved the Raiders to the Denver 39-yard line.

Darren McFadden ran the ball three times for 15 yards on the drive.

On the final third down of the drive, Oakland faced a third-and-5 from the Broncos’ 21-yard line.
Defensive end Elvis Dumervil lined up on the left side, contrary to his usual spot on the blind side.

Dumervil rushed and hit Palmer at release, forcing an incompletion and a Raiders’ field goal attempt.

Kicker Sebastian Janikowski converted on the 38-yard field goal to bring the score to 7-3, Broncos.

On the first possession of the game, the Denver offense got going with a 26-yard third-down connection from quarterback Peyton Manning to wideout Brandon Stokley, moving the Broncos quickly to midfield.

A few plays later, Manning completed a 6-yard pass to tight end Jacob Tamme on third down, but Tamme came up 1 yard short of the first down.

Facing a fourth-and-1 on the Raiders’ 30-yard line, the Broncos decided to go for it, and converted the first down on a quick pass to Tamme.

On the very next play, Manning hit Denver’s other tight end, Joel Dreessen, for a 22-yard touchdown pass. Dreessen laid out in the end zone to come up with the diving touchdown catch, giving the Broncos an early 7-0 lead.

The drive covered 80 yards on 11 plays, absorbing 4:28 on the game clock.

Manning was 6-of-8 on the possession for 74 yards.

Listen to the audio highlight of the touchdown from AM 850 KOA here.

You can watch the touchdown connection here, courtesy of NFL Network.

The Raiders won the coin toss and chose to defer. The Broncos begin the game on offense.

The Broncos’ captains this afternoon are quarterback Peyton Manning, defensive end Elvis Dumervil, running back Willis McGahee, linebacker Wesley Woodyard, and cornerback Champ Bailey. They are joined by the game captain, defensive tackle Justin Bannan.

The starting offensive line, from left to right, is as follows: tackle Ryan Clady, guard Zane Beadles, center J.D. Walton, guard Manny Ramirez, and tackle Orlando Franklin.

Cornerback Omar Bolden was back to receive, but Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski kicked it through the end zone for a touchback. The Broncos begin their drive from their own 20-yard line.

Joel Dreessen is the starting tight end with receivers Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas out wide and Brandon Stokley in the slot.

Manning is under center with McGahee starting at running back.

Following the Broncos’ touchdown, the Broncos defense comes out on the field.

The starting defensive line consists of defensive ends Derek Wolfe and Dumervil with Kevin Vickerson and Bannan on the inside.

Keith Brooking starts at middle linebacker in place of Joe Mays, with Von Miller and Woodyard as the outside linebackers.

In the defensive backfield, Rahim Moore and Mike Adams are the starting safeties. Bailey and Tracy Porter are at the corners.

A list of the players who will be inactive for Sunday’s game against the Raiders has been announced.

The following Broncos will not dress today:

G Chris Kuper
WR Matthew Willis
DT Sealver Siliga
QB Caleb Hanie
RB Knowshon Moreno
LB Nate Irving
C/G C.J. Davis

For the Oakland Raiders, the following players will not suit up:

QB Terrelle Pryor
CB Shawntae Spencer
T Khalif Barnes
OL Lucas Nix
TE Richard Gordon
WR Darrius Heyward-Bey
DE Andre Carter