This season the Denver Broncos’ chances of making the playoffs are slim to none as they came into Week 9’s AFC West division showdown with the arch rival Oakland Raiders with just two wins on the year and a shaky situation at the quarterback position. With new head coach John Fox still not entirely sold on Tim Tebow as his starting quarterback and the team suffering some injury problems, the Broncos were hoping to at least contend with the Raiders on Sunday in Oakland, but they did much more than that.

It would hard to argue that the Oakland Raiders didn’t have complete control of this divisional battle in the first half as new starting quarterback Carson Palmer seemed to have his new team firing on all cylinders. The passing game was clicking and the running game was just as good with Michael Bush filling in for Pro Bowler Darren McFadden (ankle), but the second half was another story altogether with the Denver Broncos turning it on.

The Oakland Raiders may have scored 17 points to the Denver Broncos 7 points in the first half, but the second half the Broncos countered with 17 points of their own while holding the Raiders to just one touchdown. Palmer started to show some of the rust in the second half as he threw three interceptions, two to future Hall of Famer Champ Bailey and one by Chris Harris.

Needless to say, the momentum definitely shifted in the second half as Tim Tebow and company started to turn things around. Tebow may have not had the passing numbers that John Fox has been hoping for with just 124 yards, but he did throw two touchdowns to his two favorite targets Eric Decker and Eddie Royal.

Along with Tebow’s numbers in the air, the second-year quarterback got it done on the ground with running back Willis McGahee helping him out. Tebow rushed for 117 yards, but he was just the second-best rusher on Sunday for the Broncos with McGahee torching the Raiders’ secondary for 162 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.

The Denver Broncos ultimately ended up getting the best of the Oakland Raiders in Week 9 by a score of 38-24. This is the third win for the Broncos this season and the second for Tim Tebow as a starter.

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