The Denver Broncos moved to 3-1 on the season after a huge home victory over the Oakland Raiders, as the defense dominated…
The Denver Broncos didn’t make it look easy on both sides of the football, but they did improve to 3-1 with a huge AFC West victory over their division rival Oakland Raiders.
The Broncos led most of the game, taking an early 7-0 lead that was added to with a field goal to make it 10-0, but the Raiders hung around all game, getting it within three points at 10-7 before the Broncos added another pair of field goals to give them the 16-10 victory.
It was a very inconsistent (to be nice) day for the offense after a touchdown drive in the first quarter, with some very untimely penalties, overly conservative play, and poor pass protection (again).
The defense, on the other hand, was dominant. Von Miller and the Broncos’ defensive front were absolutely outstanding in this game, holding the Oakland Raiders to a whopping total of 24 rushing yards on the game.
It was a performance that should have paved the way for a 20-plus point victory, but the offense couldn’t get out of its own way in this game.
We’ll talk about that at length, as we now have a bye week to discuss it, but here are some quick hits from this game.
1. The Run Defense Dominated
As I just mentioned, the run defense was masterful yet again. The Raiders could get nothing going on the ground in this game, and didn’t really do much in the passing game save for a broken coverage on their lone touchdown, and a field goal drive led by E.J. Manuel in the fourth quarter.
2. Derek Carr Injured
This was a scary sight to see, as Carr was spun around on a sack and appeared to over extend his back. He walked off the field, visibly in pain, and couldn’t even stand up correctly. It looked as if every step was aggravating his injury.
We don’t like the Raiders, but Derek Carr is a good guy and we hate injuries. Hopefully he is alright.
3. Justin Simmons Seals It
Justin Simmons has had his share of miscues in the season’s first quarter, but he came up with a big interception to end the game, leaping over the top of Amari Cooper who was in tight coverage anyway. It was the play that ended the game for Denver.
4. Brandon McManus Misses Again
Brandon McManus missed a 29-yard field goal. It was a critical miss at a critical point in the game, because it allowed the Raiders to continue hanging around. As inefficient as the offense was with favorable field position all game, this was an inexcusable miss on a chip shot, and McManus knows it.
He now has three misses — all at home — this season.
5. No Turnovers
The Broncos know they can win most games if they win the turnover battle. The missed field goal doesn’t go into the books as an official turnover, so the Broncos’ game-ending interception won them the turnover margin battle.
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This was huge, and nearly not the case. Trevor Siemian was sacked and stripped by Khalil Mack in this game, ruled a fumble on the play before it was determined Siemian’s knee was down before he fumbled the ball.
There were no passes that were nearly intercepted in this game, but the passing game was underwhelming for the matchups they had on the outside.
Bottom Line
The Denver Broncos are 3-1 with a chance to be in first place in the AFC West by the end of Monday night. The Broncos took care of business against the Raiders, and now will watch as the Washington Redskins try to go into Kansas City’s hostile environment and get a big win.
The Broncos are now going on a bye week before they take on the New York Giants in week six.