JaMarcus Russell has been one of the main downfalls of the Oakland Raiders (5-9) 2009 season, but he was the hero on Sunday against the Denver Broncos (8-6).  The Raiders’ starting quarterback Charlie Frye went 9/17 for 68 yards and 1 interception before leaving the game after a very hard hit early in the 4th quarter.  That is when Russell came in and went 5/11 for 47 yards and had the game winning touchdown pass with 35 seconds left.  The Raiders also got huge games from their running backs Michael Bush and Darren McFadden.  Bush had 133 yards and 1 touchdown on 18 carries and McFadden had 74 yards and 12 carries.  The Raiders finished with 241 rushing yards as a team.

The Raiders defense played well in this one, especially stopping the run.  They held the Broncos to 80 rushing yards on 28 carries.  They did give up too many yards in the passing game, with Broncos’ quarterback Kyle Orton going for 278 yards and 1 touchdown on 19/34 passes.  Russell may have been the hero on offense, but it was Stanford Routt who was the hero on defense.  With under 6 minutes to play, Broncos’ receiver Brandon Stokley ran 63 yards before being taken down by Routt at the 4-yard line.  Although Routt was called for a horse-collar penalty, it save a game-sealing touchdown and the penalty only moved the Broncos two yards up.  The defense then stuffed the Broncos, giving Russel his opportunity for the comeback only minutes later.