OAKLAND, Calif. -- As with most coaches who employ the West Coast offense, Denver boss Mike Shanahan scripts his first dozen or so plays. His scripts usually are so good the Broncos score on the first possession.

Three plays into the 28-16 defeat against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, the script was ripped to shreds. Brian Griese tripped over the foot of an offensive lineman on the Broncos' second offensive play and was sacked for a 5-yard loss. On the next play, he misfired to tight end Shannon Sharpe. Griese threw two costly interceptions before the end of the first quarter, and before long the Broncos were behind, 21-0.

	“	Every man on that plane trip back to Denver needs to ask himself honestly, 'Did you do everything it takes.' Don't kid yourself. A game of this magnitude brings out the true character of a team. I know we were well prepared. We were flat. I know we were prepared offensively, but from the way we played, I would be hard-pressed to prove it. ”
		— Shannon Sharpe, Broncos tight end

"That set the tone of the game," said Raiders linebacker Bill Romanowski, who knocked out Griese in the second quarter with a knee injury. "We said that if we could get a three-and-out to start the game, it would set the tone. We needed to set the tempo. That's what we did."

The Raiders more than set the tone in establishing a 21-0 lead. They made the Broncos look lost and bewildered. Romanowski told a television crew he didn't think Griese looked well prepared. Before suffering the injury, Griese was horrible. He completed only seven of 15 passes for 48 yards and was sacked twice. His two interceptions were converted into 14 points by the Raiders.

All week, Shanahan praised how well his offense looked in practice. It was rare for a ball to hit the ground. Griese was sharp. Receivers were sharp. This team appeared to be ready. But they were so flat Sunday it looked as though they were playing below sea level.

"Every man on that plane trip back to Denver needs to ask himself honestly, 'Did you do everything it takes,"' Sharpe said. "Don't kid yourself. A game of this magnitude brings out the true character of a team. I know we were well prepared. We were flat. I know we were prepared offensively, but from the way we played, I would be hard-pressed to prove it."

There is a likelihood the Broncos, who could still earn a wild-card playoff spot, might go with Steve Beuerlein next week. Greise is listed as day-to-day with a sprained knee. Beuerlein brought the team back to 21-16 and had the offense moving at times. He completed 13 of 28 passes for 234 yards.

"When you are down 21-0, you can't do the things you normally do," Sharpe said. "We had a 1,300-yard rusher (Clinton Portis) that we couldn't use. You can't ask to go five-step drops all the time."

Another concern for the Broncos is the shattered mentality of the defense. This is one lost unit. In Oakland's 34-10 victory in Denver, Rich Gannon picked the Broncos apart with short passes.

Shanahan tried to be different Sunday. He came out with a 3-3-5 alignment called "Penny." It was worthless. It takes defensive tackles Chester McGlockton and Lional Dalton off the field. Somebody named Monsanto Pope got significant playing time at nose tackle in this alignment.

The Broncos apparently didn't have the personnel to play man-to-man against the Raiders' receivers. Cornerback Deltha O'Neal, a Pro Bowl alternate, was benched. To get pressure, the Broncos would move linebacker Ian Gold into a defensive end slot, but his 223-pound body was overmatched going against the Raiders' 300-plus pound tackles.

The fifth defensive back was tiny corner Tyrone Poole, who is 5-foot-8.

"They used that Penny package against Indy, but they used it a lot today," said Lincoln Kennedy, the Raiders' Pro Bowl right tackle. "We knew they were going to have a change up from the first game that they played. I think they were expecting for us to pass the ball more. We have to take advantage of that and run."

The Raiders ran 37 times for 136 yards. They passed only 27 times. Overall, the Raiders dominated the Broncos at the line of scrimmage, where the Broncos allowed themselves to be overmatched.

"Obviously, I'm very disappointed," Shanahan said. "Destiny doesn't look good right now."

Destiny looks a lot better than the Broncos did Sunday. At 8-7, their playoff hopes as a wild card are flickering.

John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com.