It was “Let’s Glow Back” night at Empower Field at Mile High for Broncos-Raiders, as a halftime show of spinning dancers in LED suits lit up the skies Thursday night. It was a show that dwarfed anything Denver or Las Vegas put on turf, as the Broncos eked out a sloppy 10-7 win to improve to a still-gleaming 8-2. Here’s The Denver Post’s report card.
OFFENSE — D-
This unit’s completely bipolar. No game-to-game consistency whatsoever. The Raiders’ defense came in ranked 23rd in the NFL in points allowed per game, and the Broncos made them look like the 1985 Chicago Bears for the better part of four quarters.
Denver went three-and-out on eight of 13 drives in perhaps their ugliest offensive performance of the season. Bo Nix struggled mightily with indecision, accuracy and footwork for a second straight game, finishing 16 of 28 for 150 yards, a touchdown and two picks. Troy Franklin looked plain disgruntled after a couple of missed deep-ball connections, which is now a common theme between the two former Oregon teammates. The Broncos put up negative net yardage on a whopping four drives, and only found a shred of fourth-quarter magic in Nix’s right arm on a late third-down rollout to Franklin to help put the game away.
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DEFENSE — A+
Alarm bells flashed early, as the Raiders came out in heavy doses of two-tight-end sets and started gashing the Broncos with rookie back Ashton Jeanty. Las Vegas took a 7-0 lead early, and Brock Bowers sprang free for a 31-yard catch-and-run in the second quarter. But Vance Joseph’s unit adjusted and stiffened quickly, shouldering the entire weight of a football game. A familiar story.
Denver finished with five first-half sacks, completely shutting off any momentum from Geno Smith and Las Vegas in the passing game. Jeanty’s traction quickly slowed, as the rookie finished with 60 yards on 19 carries. Joseph’s defense contributed at every level — coverage from Riley Moss and Ja’Quan McMillian, run-stuffs from linebacker Alex Singleton, and a key tipped pick from reserve outside linebacker Dondrea Tillman. And Denver’s pressure came through in the fourth quarter, holding the Raiders to 4 of 15 on third down.
SPECIAL TEAMS — C
Redemption!
For the majority of three quarters, there was no silver lining for Darren Rizzi’s crew, a special teams unit that has shot itself in the foot for three straight weeks. Rookie punter Jeremy Crawshaw shanked his first four punts, and delivered one of the worst boots anyone will ever see off the side of his foot. The Broncos endured multiple special teams penalties, and started from an average field position of the 14-yard line in their first four drives. Not great.
At the end of the third, though, Rizzi earned vindication. Safety JL Skinner broke through Las Vegas’ line so fast on a punt that the Raiders’ AJ Cole literally booted the ball off his helmet, and the Broncos came up with a game-tilting punt block. It was still a mediocre day, as Crawshaw went 0 for 6 in pinning the Raiders inside the 20-yard line. But it was something.
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COACHING — C-
The same movie has played on rerun at Empower Field this season, game after game. Payton goes to Dobbins early. Then goes away from him in the second quarter. Then goes back to him in the third.
After Dobbins and Denver’s ground game finally generated some momentum, pushing to third-and-1 at the Raiders’ 36-yard line, Payton dialed up a flea-flicker that somehow ended up in a sack of receiver Courtland Sutton.
It took the Broncos out of field-goal range. It was baffling. And it was emblematic of another hot-and-cold day for Denver’s play-caller. Joseph and Rizzi saved the day here.
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