3) The Secondary Struggles Again
Note: Pat Surtain played an amazing game and deserves all the credit in the world. This criticism does not pertain to him. However, the rest of the Broncos secondary had their struggles, maybe aside from Essang Bassey. Kareem Jackson did pick off Jimmy G in the endzone during a tip drill, but his hit on Jakobi Meyers late in the fourth quarter effectively sealed the win for the Raiders. Justin Simmons was called for his own crucial penalty, which loomed large at the end of the Broncos' loss.
Perhaps worst of all was second-year corner Damarri Mathis, who played arguably the worst NFL game of his career, even considering his four pass interference game in 2022. Mathis graded out with a 27.8 Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade for the game, which was the worst score of his career. Beyond that, Mathis now ranks as the 92nd-ranked corner in football, making his 27.8 PFF score the worst of any corner in week one, and by default, Mathis is the worst-ranked corner in the NFL by PFF.
With the struggles of the Broncos secondary, specifically Mathis, it is unclear how quickly the Broncos can turn around their issues. K'Waun Williams remains on the IR for at least the first four weeks, and Riley Moss missed week one with an injury. If Moss remains injured, the Broncos could be in deep trouble if Mathis does not improve off his week one performance or lack thereof.