OAKLAND, CALIF. ? The Oakland Raiders did more than “Just win, baby!”

They won their way, mixing that famous renegade style of their past with the pass-happy method of the present to defeat Tennessee, 41-24, on Sunday in the AFC Championship game.

Rich Gannon, the 37-year-old league MVP, led the way with three touchdown passes and another score he ran in himself.

His thirtysomething teammates — Bill Romanowski, Rod Woodson and Tim Brown — along with 40-year-old Jerry Rice sent the Raiders and maverick owner Al Davis to the NFL title game for the first time since 1984.

“I’ve been looking at this game for 14 years and watching other people go,” Brown said. “Now, I’m finally on my way. It’s a great feeling.”

It will be a Silver and Black championship game, tinged with more than just a touch of gray.

The veteran Raiders — the team built to win right now — will go for their fourth Super Bowl title next Sunday in San Diego. They’ll play Tampa Bay, who beat Philadelphia, 27-10, in the NFC championship game earlier in the day.

Oakland’s oft-touted “Commitment to Excellence” will be tested by a coach who knows it well — Jon Gruden, who left the Raiders after last season for the Bucs.

Oakland quarterback Rich Gannon (12) runs for a touchdown out of the grasp of Tennessee safety Lance Schulters. In addition to the TD scamper, Gannon threw for three scores as the Raiders routed Tennessee, 41-24, Sunday in the AFC Championship game in Oakland, Calif.

“How ya doing, Coach?,” Raiders receiver Jerry Porter quipped. “I’ll see ya later.”

On a clear, perfect day at a stadium known as the Black Hole, the Raiders looked as much like the old group of swashbuckling bad boys they used to be as the new team they have become.

The old: 14 penalties for 127 yards, a handful of cheap shots and a bevy of vicious hits on Steve McNair, who paid a huge price for his 194 yards passing and two rushing touchdowns.

The new: Unbelievably, Oakland called exactly one running play over the first three quarters, leaving the work to Gannon, who threw 41 times for 286 yards and scrambled for 41 more, including a fourth-quarter touchdown.

“We were making a lot of dumb mistakes out there,” linebacker Eric Barton said. “Fortunately, we sucked it up and stopped it. That shows the character of this team.”

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