OAKLAND, Calif. — One thing you could count on during the NFL offseason. When talk turned to the mighty teams of the AFC, no one mentioned the Denver Broncos.

The Broncos won 16 games and lost 16 games in two seasons while pushing millions of fans to a state of stupefied boredom.

This season promised more of the same. The Broncos wouldn't be great, wouldn't be awful and wouldn't inspire much excitement. Sunday afternoons would be great times for naps.

But Monday night's victory over the Oakland Raiders was so dazzling, such a complete smackdown, that expectations again soar.

I realize the Raiders aren't the New England Patriots. Oakland has lost 62 of its last 81 games.

How pathetic are the Raiders? Their fans are more frightening than their players.

Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey shrugged as he considered the immensity of the moment. He's not getting carried away.

"We got to do a lot more than just win a game on the road to be one of the elite or to be mentioned with them," he said.

So it's not time to start dreaming big dreams, but that time could arrive as early as Sunday evening.

If the Broncos drop the Chargers at Invesco Field, Denver will dance with a 2-0 record and San Diego will stumble with an 0-2 record.

Forget the Chiefs and Raiders. Neither team is going anywhere in the AFC West.

If the Broncos unplug the Chargers, Denver will enjoy a two-game lead with 14 to go. That would be reason for celebration.

Bailey wasn't surprised by the Broncos' romp, watched by a national audience on "Monday Night Football". He knows the Broncos entered the season surrounded by diminished expectations.

But those low expectations, he insisted, never invaded the Broncos' locker room.

"That's with you guys," Bailey said, looking around a locker room filled with reporters. "Ya'll don't expect things for us, but we expect things from ourselves. We are burdened with expectations. We got our goals set just as high as any team in the league." Bailey talked, as usual, in a calm voice, making sure he communicated his lack of concern for what others think of his team.

But fellow cornerback Dre' Bly flowed with emotion. Bly is angered that his Broncos have been ignored, and I get the feeling Bly's anger is shared by most of his teammates.

"We wanted to make a point out there today," Bly said. "Nobody gave us a chance. We're going to shock the world." Bly could be right.

Quarterback Jay Cutler might have zoomed, in four dazzling quarters, from solid player to one of the NFL's most dangerous weapons. He made ridiculous throws look easy. He was patient, accurate, audacious and malicious.

He shredded the Raiders' secondary, and he did the shredding without the help of Brandon Marshall, his best receiver. Marshall returns from a one-game suspension for Sunday's clash with the Chargers.

Broncos receiver Brandon Stokley spent Monday night happily chatting with despondent Raiders defenders. Oakland endured a stomping from an allegedly mediocre team.

"In this room," Stokley said, "we have high expectations for ourselves, but outside the room I don't think anybody predicted us to do anything good. They looked at what we did last year, and nobody had expectations for us." In one night, those low expectations vanished, replaced by a buzz of fresh hope.

On Sunday, when the Chargers invade Invesco, we'll see if this renewed promise is an illusion.