OAKLAND — Opportunity came knocking at McAfee Coliseum on Sunday afternoon. The Oakland Raiders weren't home. They were, to be blunt, out to lunch.

As a result, the Denver Broncos didn't have to do much that would qualify as spectacular to break out to a 23-0 lead en route to a 31-17 victory that sunk the Raiders deeper into the AFC West cellar.

It was the eighth straight division loss the Raiders have absorbed on what used to be a sweet home field. But it was largely what you might expect from a 7-2 team headed upward facing a 3-6 squad headed to parts unknown.

"It's a tough division," wide receiver Jerry Porter said. "These guys come out and play hard. There is a reason they were 6-2 coming into this game."

And a reason the Raiders were 3-5, in spite of what Denver running back Mike Anderson said about how Oakland having a team that was much better than its record.

Oakland underscored those dreary reasons in bold letters with a Sharpie for this one.

Three mistakes were disastrous.

- On Oakland's first possession of the game, with no score, quarterback Kerry Collins had Porter wide open down the east sideline from the Raiders 43. Porter dropped the ball at the 28 with open field in front of him.

Porter called it "the ball that molested my forearm."

"It was a sun ball all the way," he said. "I beat the guy (cornerback Champ Bailey) at the line of scrimmage and got up the field, but the ball got right behind the sun. I just put my hands up and hoped I could feel it and catch it."

He couldn't. Exit the first opportunity.

- The Raiders had rallied from a 23-0 deficit to 23-10 early in the fourth quarter and had the Broncos backed up at their 18 when Jake Plummer made one of his rare poor throws — right to rookie linebacker Kirk Morrison, who had nothing but air between him and the end zone.

He dropped it, depriving the Raiders of pulling within six points.

"He threw a three-step slant," Morrison said. "I jumped right in front of it. The ball got on me real fast. I just didn't make the play. It was a critical point in the game. I have to make that play. Next time I know I will."

Exit opportunity No. 2.

- It was still 23-10 moments later and the Raiders were closing in on getting the score to 23-17. From the Broncos 19, third-and-8, Collins was late getting a play called and Oakland was flagged for delay of game.

One play later, Collins was aiming for Porter on the left side but instead threw it directly to rookie cornerback Darrent Williams at the 20.

Williams took it back 80 yards for a touchdown and instead of 23-17, after a two point conversion, it was 31-10.

Time left: 7:02. It was the final opportunity squandered.

When Collins located Doug Gabriel in the Broncos end zone with 1:59 to play, the Raiders were within 14, a halfway respectable deficit. But it wasn't enough to prevent the boos from cascading down onto the field, most of them aimed at Collins.

He didn't bother to defend himself after a 26-for-50, 310-yard, two touchdown, three interception performance.

"I was playing lousy," Collins conceded. "I understand their frustration. It happened last year. They want to win. They are passionate about it.

"When things go like they did today they naturally are going to voice their opinion on my play. It's part of the game and part of the position. There are days like this. It is what it is ... a lousy day for me. I will take responsibility for that and move on. The only thing you can do is come back from it, and it's something I plan on doing."

"Oakland fans are passionate fans," Porter said. "They have every right to boo. We came out and stunk it up today — bad balls, drops, bad tackling, bad blocking ... across the board. We didn't play our best game."

The only thing that did pass as decent was the defense. It played well enough that the Raiders managed to outgain Denver, hold its vaunted running game to a mere 3.2 yards a carry in spite of the first play from scrimmage, on which Anderson reeled off a 23-yard gain.

Although his streak of three straight games with two sacks came to an end, defensive end Derrick Burgess made a crushing hit on Tatum Bell that forced a fumble that Jarrod Cooper recovered on the series before Williams' interception return for a touchdown.

Morrison had 12 tackles and played well despite that dropped interception. Renaldo Hill had 10 stops and was all over the field. Although cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha yielded a 27-yard touchdown pass to Rod Smith in the second quarter — a blooper of a throw in which he fell off balance at the tail end — the secondary played well.

But the drops in particular wiped that out.

Coach Norv Turner was asked if lapses in concentration caused the drops.

"You go work your (butt) off and get ready to go," he said. "I didn't think our team had a lack of focus. The physical part was very good. I can't answer why a guy does or doesn't make that play.

"I think early plays, there were 3-4, were makeable plays. Those are the plays that get you going, get you confidence."

And the Raiders, particularly on offense, never really got going, never really got confident and never really made the sellout game — though sparsely attended — any sort of celebration.

"We have to do better on third downs (the Raiders were 4-for-15) and keep our defense off the field and let them rest," said tackle Barry Sims. "The defense has been playing really well and played well today.

"We had the two interceptions for touchdowns (actually one for a TD, one for a field goal). Take those away and a missed field goal (Sebastian Janikowski's string of 10 straight ended with a 45-yard miss in the second quarter.). We just need to execute better and the outcome is going to be different."

At this point, aside from eyewash, that scarcely matters despite running back LaMont Jordan's insistence the team can still run the table and go

10-6. Only a select few people considered the Raiders as Super Bowl contenders this year, but who expected 3-6?

"Nobody did," Porter said. "I know I didn't. Mathematically, it doesn't look good."

Along with the results.

Is this the most disappointing Oakland Raiders season ever? Compare it to some others. Include first/last name and city, and send your opinions to Turn2@angnewspapers.com. - On Oakland's first possession of the game, with no score, quarterback Kerry Collins had Porter wide open down the east sideline from the Raiders 43. Porter dropped the ball at the 28 with open field in front of him.

Porter called it "the ball that molested my forearm."

"It was a sun ball all the way," he said. "I beat the guy (cornerback Champ Bailey) at the line of scrimmage and got up the field, but the ball got right behind the sun. I just put my hands up and hoped I could feel it and catch it."

He couldn't. Exit the first opportunity.

- The Raiders had rallied from a 23-0 deficit to 23-10 early in the fourth quarter and had the Broncos backed up at their 18 when Jake Plummer made one of his rare poor throws — right to rookie linebacker Kirk Morrison, who had nothing but air between him and the end zone.

He dropped it, depriving the Raiders of pulling within six points.

"He threw a three-step slant," Morrison said. "I jumped right in front of it. The ball got on me real fast. I just didn't make the play. It was a critical point in the game. I have to make that play. Next time I know I will."

Exit opportunity No. 2.

- It was still 23-10 moments later and the Raiders were closing in on getting the score to 23-17. From the Broncos 19, third-and-8, Collins was late getting a play called and Oakland was flagged for delay of game.

One play later, Collins was aiming for Porter on the left side but instead threw it directly to rookie cornerback Darrent Williams at the 20.

Williams took it back 80 yards for a touchdown and instead of 23-17, after a two point conversion, it was 31-10.

Time left: 7:02. It was the final opportunity squandered.

When Collins located Doug Gabriel in the Broncos end zone with 1:59 to play, the Raiders were within 14, a halfway respectable deficit. But it wasn't enough to prevent the boos from cascading down onto the field, most of them aimed at Collins.

He didn't bother to defend himself after a 26-for-50, 310-yard, two touchdown, three interception performance.

"I was playing lousy," Collins conceded. "I understand their frustration. It happened last year. They want to win. They are passionate about it.

"When things go like they did today they naturally are going to voice their opinion on my play. It's part of the game and part of the position. There are days like this. It is what it is ... a lousy day for me. I will take responsibility for that and move on. The only thing you can do is come back from it, and it's something I plan on doing."

"Oakland fans are passionate fans," Porter said. "They have every right to boo. We came out and stunk it up today — bad balls, drops, bad tackling, bad blocking ... across the board. We didn't play our best game."

The only thing that did pass as decent was the defense. It played well enough that the Raiders managed to outgain Denver, hold its vaunted running game to a mere 3.2 yards a carry in spite of the first play from scrimmage, on which Anderson reeled off a 23-yard gain.

Although his streak of three straight games with two sacks came to an end, defensive end Derrick Burgess made a crushing hit on Tatum Bell that forced a fumble that Jarrod Cooper recovered on the series before Williams' interception return for a touchdown.

Morrison had 12 tackles and played well despite that dropped interception. Renaldo Hill had 10 stops and was all over the field. Although cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha yielded a 27-yard touchdown pass to Rod Smith in the second quarter — a blooper of a throw in which he fell off balance at the tail end — the secondary played well.

But the drops in particular wiped that out.

Coach Norv Turner was asked if lapses in concentration caused the drops.

"You go work your (butt) off and get ready to go," he said. "I didn't think our team had a lack of focus. The physical part was very good. I can't answer why a guy does or doesn't make that play.

"I think early plays, there were 3-4, were makeable plays. Those are the plays that get you going, get you confidence."

And the Raiders, particularly on offense, never really got going, never really got confident and never really made the sellout game — though sparsely attended — any sort of celebration.

"We have to do better on third downs (the Raiders were 4-for-15) and keep our defense off the field and let them rest," said tackle Barry Sims. "The defense has been playing really well and played well today.

"We had the two interceptions for touchdowns (actually one for a TD, one for a field goal). Take those away and a missed field goal (Sebastian Janikowski's string of 10 straight ended with a 45-yard miss in the second quarter.). We just need to execute better and the outcome is going to be different."

At this point, aside from eyewash, that scarcely matters despite running back LaMont Jordan's insistence the team can still run the table and go

10-6. Only a select few people considered the Raiders as Super Bowl contenders this year, but who expected 3-6?

"Nobody did," Porter said. "I know I didn't. Mathematically, it doesn't look good."

Along with the results.

Is this the most disappointing Oakland Raiders season ever? Compare it to some others. Include first/last name and city, and send your opinions to Turn2@angnewspapers.com.