Alameda, Calif. ? After throwing another perfect pass that made another teammate look very good, Rich Gannon watched approvingly as the Oakland Raiders honored Tim Brown on the field for his 1,000th career reception.

Just don’t expect a similar ceremony if Gannon breaks any of the NFL records in his sights during the Raiders’ final four games.

“No, no. I’m just a regular guy,” Gannon said after passing for 342 yards in another incredibly efficient performance during the Raiders’ 26-20 victory against the New York Jets on Monday night.

But there’s nothing regular about Gannon’s season – and there’s nothing regular about the Raiders’ league-best offense, which has turned into a West Coast machine that could allow Gannon to break one of the NFL’s loftiest records: Dan Marino’s 5,084 yards passing in 1984.

Largely with one precise short-yardage pass after another that takes the West Coast concept to an impressive extreme, Gannon has thrown for 3,877 yards in the Raiders’ first 12 games, leaving him 1,207 yards shy of Marino’s mark.

Gannon could break it with four more 300-yard games – and he already has nine such games this season, tying the NFL record held by Marino, Warren Moon and Kurt Warner.

“He’s the glue that holds this whole thing together,” said Jerry Rice, who caught a 26-yard TD pass from Gannon on the next play following Brown’s historic reception. “There aren’t many quarterbacks who could do it. He deserves a lot of the credit for what this offense is doing.”

Gannon, a former Kansas City Chiefs backup, is the AFC’s highest-rated passer at 99.6 – second in the league behind St. Louis backup Marc Bulger. Gannon has completed 350 passes this season – well within striking distance of Moon’s 1991 record of 404.

His 69.3 percent completion rate is a fraction behind league leader Chad Pennington of the Jets – and Pennington has thrown 226 fewer passes.

In the Raiders’ first-place showdown at San Diego on Sunday, Gannon is almost certain to break Jeff George’s 1997 franchise record of 3,917 yards passing.

Gannon clearly is in the midst of an historic season – but after bouncing around the NFL for 15 seasons following his college career at low-profile Delaware, Gannon has an aversion to the spotlight that borders on the obsessive.

He refuses almost any chance to talk about his individual accomplishments. Anybody who attempts to compliment him on his remarkable statistics instead will hear talk about team victories and leadership.

“Two of the biggest things for me are the interceptions and the completions,” Gannon said. “That’s really what I hang my hat on.”

The Raiders have a four-game winning streak heading to San Diego. Oakland has resurrected its season following a four-game losing streak, but the Raiders’ final four games all are against playoff contenders – including the other three teams in the AFC West, which still is up for grabs.

Much of Oakland’s success rests on the shoulders of Gannon, his veteran corps of receivers and versatile running back Charlie Garner.

“We have a feel for what each other likes to do,” Brown said. “There are certain plays and certain routes and certain tactics that we know how to use and when to use.”