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- READ: Bo Nix: Offense has to 'find some juice somewhere' after 'sluggish' win
- Broncos win seventh straight, but it was ugly. The slow-start blues were back again Thursday night, but this time they lasted all night. You can’t diminish seven straight victories in an NFL season, but the Broncos didn’t look sharp and might have lost to a better team. They fell behind early and did nothing on their first four drives, all three-and-outs, and they’d add three more of those later, plus a pair of Bo Nix interceptions. One was Troy Franklin’s fault, but the first one before halftime likely cost them points. The Broncos were losing the field position battle early, with a bad punting game and seven first-half penalties. Then they started the second half with penalties on the kick return and first offensive play, leading to a quick three-and-out – instead of a statement drive that could have reinvigorated the irritated Mile High crowd. It never happened. They merely wore down the Raiders, grinding out the clock late to put a merciful end to a bad game.
- Raiders couldn't capitalize on upset opportunity. The Raiders had the upset formula cooking early, controlling the clock for most of the first quarter and starting to lean on the Broncos’ defense a little. They even twice buried the Broncos with punts to the 1- and 2-yard line. But following an awful hold on Jack Bech, wiping out a 32-yard Ashton Jeanty run, things started falling apart offensively. The Raiders had a touchdown wiped out on a Dont'e Thornton Jr. penalty, Geno Smith a fourth-down sack and Thornton dropped what could have been a huge gain late in the first half. It didn’t help that the Raiders were missing both starting guards. But Jeanty dropped a pass that was picked, and he missed a pass-protection assignment that led to a Smith grounding call, which was followed by a blocked punt and the go-ahead field goal. Not targeting Brock Bowers after halftime certainly was a decision, too.
- Denver’s defense once again bailed it out. The Raiders converted a short field into a touchdown early, part of another poor Broncos special teams showing, but that was the one time the Denver defense didn’t pass the test. Otherwise, this unit -- once again playing without Patrick Surtain II -- was terrific. Granted, the Raiders were their own worst enemies at times, and they lost two starting offensive linemen during the game. But the Broncos set the tone early with five first-half sacks (six total), bringing their season total to a shocking 46 through 10 games. Nik Bonitto once again was a monster, with 1.5 sacks and eight pressures, per Next Gen Stats. One of those sacks came on fourth down, leading to Denver’s only TD of the game. Keeping Brock Bowers (one 31-yard catch on three targets) under wraps and not letting Ashton Jeanty get loose were big keys.
- Raiders defense did everything you could ask. It’s easy to say that Denver’s offense was in a funk, and seven offensive penalties certainly back that up. But it would be unfair not to credit the Raiders’ defense for its effort Thursday night. They got just enough pressure on Bo Nix (16 of 28 for season-low 150 yards) to keep him honest, and they did a great job of corralling him in the pocket and not letting him use his legs to hurt them with a lot of disciplined zone defense. When they blitzed selectively, the Raiders had success, picking off Nix and holding him to 2-of-5 passing for 9 yards. The formula was clearly to play a field-position game, and the Raiders forced the Broncos into a lot of third-and-shorts and stopped them a few times. Maxx Crosby was everywhere in short yardage, also providing quality pass rush. After the Broncos' blocked punt deep in Raiders territory, the defense gummed up and moved them back, even if the eventual field goal was the difference. Can’t blame the D on this one, however.
- Broncos passing game needs to refine its timing. The Raiders found ways to disrupt the Broncos’ passing game, but the Broncos were also guilty of dropped passes and inaccurate throws. Even on a windy night, the execution was surprisingly poor. Bo Nix heaved up an interception late in the first half when there wasn’t anything there, and he was lucky that a few more passes weren’t picked early on. Troy Franklin dropped a pass that turned into an interception, one of several drops for Denver. There were at least three in the first half. Pat Bryant provided the big offensive highlight with a 43-yard catch and run, but he also wiped out a catch later on his own offensive pass interference call. Evan Engram had only two catches for 12 yards on five targets, seemingly struggling early. This offense has shown explosive ability, but against a Raiders defense that most teams run through, the Broncos couldn’t even complete routine passes at various points. That has to improve before hosting the Chiefs next week in a massive game.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Raiders-Broncos (via NFL Pro): Nik Bonitto generated eight pressures and 1.5 sacks on 24 pass rushes (33.3%) in Week 10, including six quick pressures (under 2.5 seconds).
NFL Research: The Broncos and Raiders each had more penalties than first downs Thursday night. It was only the second time since 1950 that this happened in a game. The only other time was a game between the 0-5 Buccaneers and Seahawks, each in their expansion seasons in 1976.