OAKLAND, Calif. — Jay Cutler's strength and rocket arm are back like never before now that his diabetes is under control.

Cutler threw for 300 yards with long touchdown passes to rookie Eddie Royal and Darrell Jackson that helped the Denver Broncos beat up on their AFC West rivals in a 41-14 victory over the Oakland Raiders tonight.

Cutler showed why the Broncos made him a first-round draft pick in 2006, completing 16 of 24 passes and confidently picking apart Oakland's rebuilt defense in a dominating season-opening performance despite missing suspended big-play receiver Brandon Marshall.

It was a pleasant sight for the Broncos to see after an up-and-down performance last season when Cutler lost 35 pounds and the zip on his throws while struggling with diabetes that was not diagnosed until March. Now he's back to his healthy self and the Broncos couldn't be happier.

For the Raiders, the season couldn't have gotten off to much worse of a start. They lost their sixth straight season opener and only avoided their third straight shutout on Monday Night Football when JaMarcus Russell threw two meaningless fourth-quarter touchdown passes — one to former University of Hawaii standout Ashley Lelie for 8 yards. Lelie finished with three catches for 37 yards.

Oakland committed five personal fouls, botched a reverse for a 15-yard loss and was dominated on both sides of the ball in a performance that drew plenty of boos from a frustrated crowd that has grown all too used to this type of game. The Raiders have an NFL worst 19-62 record since 2004, and even the first game with Russell and Darren McFadden together couldn't change that.

Royal helped make sure of that in an NFL debut that made sure the Broncos did not miss Marshall, who was suspended for violating the NFL's code of conduct. Royal, a second-round draft pick out of Virginia Tech, caught nine passes for 146 yards.

Royal was featured in the offense from the start, running the ball twice and catching a pass in the first four plays from scrimmage. He capped the opening drive by getting behind cornerback DeAngelo Hall and safety Gibril Wilson and catching a 26-yard pass from Cutler on a third-down rollout.

After a 72-yard pass to tight end Tony Scheffler moved the ball down to the 4, Royal had a second touchdown called back when he lined up illegally. That forced the Broncos to settle for a 26-yard field goal by Matt Prater.

Royal caught three passes on the Broncos' third scoring drive, drawing two personal fouls from Hall along the way to set up the first of two touchdown runs by Michael Pittman to make it 17-0.

Cutler put the game away with a 48-yard TD pass to Jackson in the third quarter and Selvin Young added a 5-yard touchdown run in the fourth.

The Raiders went on an offseason spending spree to try to reverse five straight seasons of double-digit losses. The early payoff was not good.

Receiver Javon Walker, who got $16 million in guaranteed money, missed the game with an injured hamstring. Hall, who got $24 million guaranteed, was frequently beat by Royal in coverage and committed the two personal fouls. Defensive tackle Tommy Kelly, who got $18 million in guarantees, was part of a line that failed to get pressure on Cutler all night.

Oakland's best scoring chance of the first half came on its opening drive following a 58-yard kick return by Johnnie Lee Higgins to the 35. But after running the ball on eight straight plays to get to the 7, Russell lost the ball in the pocket while being pressured by Elvis Dumervil and Ebenezer Ekuban recovered the fumble.

Russell was frequently under pressure in his second career start, going 17 of 26 for 180 yards and two TDs. McFadden had 57 yards from scrimmage, lining up in the backfield at receiver and even at quarterback during the game.