by Dennis J. GeorgatosFiled under: Raiders, AFC West
Jason Campbell went from worst to first in one week.A week after a woeful exhibition that produced the lowest passer rating by a Raiders quarterback in 35 years, Campbell had a career-best rating of 127.9 in helping the Raiders blow out the Denver Broncos 59-14 on Sunday.
Campbell had two interceptions, didn't complete a pass for two quarters of play and banged up his knee while finishing with a 10.7 passer in last week's 17-9 loss to the 49ers. There were real questions about whether he would get another shot at starting in place of injured Bruce Gradkowski (shoulder), both because of his performance and because of his sore knee.
But his knee got better over the course of the week and he was able to get plenty of practice work in, though third-string quarterback Kyle Boller also got first-team practice repetitions. In the end, Raiders coach Tom Cable and offensive coordinator Hue Jackson decided to stick with Campbell and then tried to buoy his spirits by giving him pep talks in the days leading up to the Broncos game.
Campbell responded beautifully, igniting the Raiders' team record-setting scoring spree by finishing their opening series with a 43-yard touchdown pass to tight end Zach Miller.
He added a 19-yard touchdown pass to Darren McFadden, and finished 12 of 20 for 204 yards with no interceptions in a performance that saw his passer rating zoom upward 11-fold from a week ago.
When Campbell was pulled after three quarters in favor of Boller, it was in recognition of a job well done, not the other way around.
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