Denver Broncos vs Raiders was learning experience for Pat Surtain II

The Denver Broncos fell to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday despite it looking like they could pull off the win. Second-year cornerback Pat Surtain II was solid in the first half.

Surtain was covering star receiver Davante Adams for most of the game, and in the second half, allowed Adams to just four catches for 44 yards on seven targets.

During that first half, Surtain had several pass breakups while covering Adams.

While we obviously would have liked for Adams to not end the night with nine receptions for 101 yards, it is hard to expect a single defensive back to take on this challenge, for the most part, alone. It is worth noting that Adams caught some of his passes while being covered by inside linebackers, rather than Surtain.

Surtain can still learn plenty of things while doing well against one of the league’s best receivers.

I do have full confidence in Surtain, but the fact is that he will get beat once in a while. This was a tremendous test for the second-year cornerback from Alabama.

We did see Surtain get beat a little bit, but honestly, he makes up for any negative play with his more-often great plays, such as the pass breakup that would’ve been a touchdown had it been complete.

The thing is, after halftime, both teams made adjustments. That’s what literally every team in sports does. They make adjustments to try and outsmart the opposing team. Adams did get the better of Surtain in the second half, and while the team did lose by more than a touchdown, this was a great learning experience for Surtain. Surtain did not allow a touchdown to Adams the entire game.

That is a major victory in my eyes.

At the end of the day, there is absolutely nothing to worry about with Surtain.  Even if the Denver Broncos did not have Russell Wilson at quarterback, I would still have loved this selection in last year’s draft.

I am sure there are still people who question the draft selection, but I think that talk needs to end at this point.