The Oakland Raiders went into Denver and rode their defense to a comeback win over the Broncos. #52 Khalil Mack was the defensive star that led the Raiders with five sacks, one of which caused a safety (huge play). As coach Del Rio stated in the post-game, the pass coverage gets credit for forcing Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler to hold the ball longer, giving the pass rush time to get to the quarterback.
I think once Del Rio sees game tape he'll agree that Mack's relentless attack made the pass coverage job easier. Either way, the Raiders defense did a fantastic job of keeping the Broncos out of the endzone all day and rattling the home team offense. They also caused game changing fumbles.
Bonus: There was a TJ Carrie sighting when on a Broncos third down pass late in the game he lit up Broncos receiver Emmanuel Sanders resulting in a no catch out of bounds ruling. Carrie's big sideline hit kept Sanders feet from landing in bounds nullifying what would have been a first down catch.
Sure, the Broncos dominated the first half. Sure we're left still wondering what has happened to the once top ranked Raiders offense starring WR Amari Cooper. Coop was targeted eight times and had zero catches. Gotta give QB Derek Carr and the passing game some credit for scoring two touchdowns in the second half after being down 12-0 at halftime. An impressive task when your running game is non-existent.
#10 Seth Roberts Touchdown
Precise route running resulted in beautiful touchdown catches by Mychal Rivera and Seth Roberts, giving us glimpses of the the Raiders early season offensive explosiveness; different receivers, same results. They'll need to find ways to get Coop and Crabtree touches as well as running backs out of the backfield. The Latavius Murray up the middle has proven it's mostly good for running time off the play clock. The rushing stats are........abysmal.
Denver did come into the game leading the league in overall defense, maybe that was the reason for a mostly conservative game plan. Also, Derek Carr coming off last week's ugly three interception loss might've dictated the play calling. Today Carr was 12 for 29 for 135 yards and 2 touchdowns. No turnovers by interception or fumble.
Also deserving credit is punter Marquette King for placing five of his ten punts inside the 20 yard line. One of King's punts was mishandled by the Broncos return man resulting in a fumble recovery by the Raiders.
It was a frustrating game to watch as a Raiders fan, but the ugly win on the road in Denver was the most rewarding victory for the silver & black in years; definitely the best win for new coach Jack Del Rio and his staff. Raiders hadn't won in Denver since 2011. Imagine how the now 10-3 Broncos fans must feel after losing to the silver & black.
Congratulations Raiders on a huge step taken toward being a great team once again.
Final Score
Raiders 15
Broncos 12
Mile High Maniac's Take On The Game
Raider Central Mikey Raider Postgame (Game Over)
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