OAKLAND, Calif. — With Michael Vick in prison and Bobby Petrino fleeing town early, the Atlanta Falcons dealt with more than their fair share of troubles last season.

Even so, they never quite sank as low as they sent the Oakland Raiders yesterday.

Matt Ryan threw a pair of first-half touchdown passes to Michael Jenkins and the Falcons held the Raiders to negative yards and no first downs in the first half and their lowest yards total in 47 years in a 24-0 victory.

"During the week, we look like we're a Super Bowl team, and we come out there and we're damn near the laughingstock of the league, and it's ridiculous," said Raiders safety Gibril Wilson, who came to Oakland from the Super Bowl champion New York Giants in the offseason.

In a six-year stretch of losing, turmoil and new lows in Oakland, Al Davis' once-proud franchise might have reached a new nadir this week in front of a half-filled stadium of fans who began booing the Raiders (2-6) just minutes in.

Oakland finished with just 77 yards for its worst total since getting 58 in 1961 against the Chargers, when Davis was an assistant in San Diego. It's the lowest total in the NFL since Cleveland gained 26 on Dec. 12, 2004, against Buffalo. Oakland's three first downs were tied for the third fewest since the merger in 1970, with Cleveland twice being held to two in 1999 and 2000.

The Falcons (5-3) scored on their first four possessions as Ryan had open receivers to pick from almost every time he dropped back, while Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood had big holes to run through.

Atlanta also posted its first shutout since 2002, preserving it with an interception in the end zone by Erik Coleman midway through the fourth quarter. The Falcons set a record for fewest total yards allowed in a game, allowing one fewer than Tampa Bay got in a 17-0 loss in 1977.

Ryan finished 17 of 22 for 220 yards. Turner added 139 yards on 31 carries.

After suffering through the misery of 2007 that started with Vick's guilty plea to federal dogfighting charges and ended when Petrino fled town with three games remaining in his first season as coach is quickly becoming a distant memory.

Led by rookie quarterback Ryan and rookie coach Mike Smith, the Falcons have already surpassed last season's victory total by one at just the halfway point and are in the thick of the race in the NFC.

"Defensively, I thought it was outstanding today," Smith said. "It was a very dominating first half. I thought we were very efficient throughout."

BUCS 30, CHIEFS 27

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jeff Garcia's 24-yard touchdown pass and 2-point conversion toss tied it with 19 seconds left, and Matt Bryant's 33-yard field goal in overtime gave the Buccaneers a win after they trailed by 21.

The Chiefs (1-7) never touched the ball in overtime as Garcia hit Michael Clayton for 29 yards on the first play and smartly moved Tampa Bay (6-3) down the field.

VIKINGS 28, TEXANS 21

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota forced three turnovers and got three touchdown passes from Gus Frerotte in the win over Houston (3-5). Minnesota (4-4) returned from the bye week fully recharged. Antoine Winfield picked off Matt Schaub at the Vikings 5 before Houston's starting quarterback was sidelined at halftime by an injury to his left knee, and Madieu Williams intercepted Sage Rosenfels in the end zone in the third quarter.