The Broncos have been the subject of an incredible amount of criticism over the past three months of NFL football, focusing mainly on their offensive output. Regardless of how many games in a row they win, Denver is the center of criticism from virtually every outlet possible on their offensive output. Despite the outside voices, Denver just keeps winning.
The Broncos' offense scored only 24 points on Sunday, and national media outlets immediately criticized their performance. However, a deeper look into Denver's performance on Sunday afternoon would show that the Broncos' offense succeeded at a high rate and turned in one of the best offensive performances of the week. It wouldn't be wise to expect the national media to talk about that, though.
The Broncos' offense lacked the point power of most other teams, but they turned in one of the more complete performances of the season. Denver's underlying data showed that the game plan from Sean Payton showed that his ideas on how to better attack the Raiders' defense worked, and it was executed somewhat flawlessly. Let's take a look at some important stats that show how strong Denver's offensive plan was.
These stats from Sunday in Las Vegas show how well the Broncos' scoring performed against the Raiders
With their seven offensive drives on Sunday, the Broncos scored three times, averaging almost a score every two possessions. Between their offensive and special teams, the Broncos scored 24 points on seven offensive drives. If the Broncos are going to make a deep run into the playoffs, some level of scoring from their defense or special teams will be needed.
With their points, the Broncos averaged 3.4 points per drive, which is far better than the full season rate of any NFL team this year. Even taking out their special teams touchdown, the Broncos averaged 2.4 points per drive, which is a solid mark. The Broncos aren't a team who will burn you with quick scores and short drives, so their best offensive performances here on out might cap out around 24-28 points.
Overall, the Broncos did more than enough on the offensive side of the ball to win. Considering it was a ten-point game until the clock hit double zeros, their game plan worked incredibly well and was more than enough to win. Denver is a ground-and-pound team at their core, and it showed on the field in Las Vegas on Sunday.