Nov. 28, 1963 - The Oakland Raiders came alive with two third-quarter touchdowns today and went on to score a 26-10 American Football League victory over the Broncos at Bears Stadium in Denver. Cotton Davidson (pictured) flipped a 39-yard pass to Bo Roberson for the Raiders’ first touchdown, and three minutes later Jon Jelacic grabbed quarterback Don Breaux’s fumble and ran 18 yards for another touchdown as Oakland erased Denver’s 3-2 halftime lead. The victory tightened the amazing Raiders’ grip on second place in the Western Division with a 7-4 record and left Denver at the bottom at 2-8-1. Gene Mingo’s 52-yard field goal put Denver in front in the second quarter after Oakland had scored a safety in the first. After Oakland went ahead, 26-3, in the fourth quarter, Breaux completed 3 passes on an 80-yard touchdown drive that was capped by a 35-yard screen pass to Billy Joe for Denver’s only touchdown. There were some angry moments in the game, notably when Bronco Jerry Sturm was ejected for swinging punches at Raider Dan Birdwell. Sturm had been asking for trouble all day. The Raiders had full command at 16-3 at the time, so the incident was of small matter. Coach Al Davis of the Raiders said the offense was “very sloppy” in the first half, but the defense more than held up its part. “In the second half, the offense picked up — and it was high time,” Davis added. Coach Jack Faulkner of the Broncos was generous enough to tell Davis: “Your Raiders have a very good chance of knocking off San Diego and going on from there.” The Chargers tangle with Houston this Sunday at Balboa Stadium in San Diego. One week later, the Oaklanders entertain the Chargers at Frank Youell Field in what should determine leadership of the Western Division.
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