The Denver Broncos‘ defense just completely shut down the Las Vegas Raiders‘ offense on Thursday Night Football. However, they were fortunate that the officials didn’t flag them more often for late hits.
In the first quarter, linebacker Dre Greenlaw was barreling toward Raiders wide receiver Tre Tucker, who was already going down from a tackle from another player. Instead of slowing down, Greelaw lowered his shoulder and hit Tucker when he was already on the ground.
It was clearly a late hit, but the officials didn’t throw a flag. Unfortunately for Greenlaw, that won’t protect him from possible punishment.
Former Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Mitchell Schwartz posted a highlight of the play on social media and suggested that Greenlaw is likely to face punishment from the NFL.
Greenlaw was already suspended once this season for running at a referee and has been fined for illegal hits in the past. The play certainly isn’t dirty enough to warrant any kind of suspension, but there’s likely a small fine headed his way. He was fortunate to avoid hitting Tucker in the helmet, as that likely could’ve led to additional punishment and may have been enough for the officials to throw a flag on the play.
Broncos Defense Shuts Down Raiders Offense
After a first-half touchdown, the Raiders couldn’t do anything on offense. The Broncos have one of the best defenses in the NFL, so it’s not a surprise they played well, but even the best defenses ever have a hard time holding an offense to just seven points.
The Raiders had multiple opportunities and likely should’ve at least tied the game with a Daniel Carlson field goal in the fourth quarter that he missed. Tight end Brock Bowers has been close to unstoppable when healthy, but Denver held him to one catch for 31 yards.
“Can’t get anything going and you try, try as hard as you can,” Bowers said after the game, via Raiders.com. “Everybody’s trying as hard as they can and it isn’t happening. It’s weird.”
As good as the Broncos’ defense is, there’s clearly something wrong with the Raiders’ offense.
Rookies Let Raiders Down
The Raiders’ rookies didn’t do the team any favors against Denver. Wide receiver Dont’e Thornton had a really rough day. He had a penalty that led to a touchdown being called back, and he dropped a great pass from Geno Smith at the end of the first half that may have led to at least a field goal.
“Great ball, first off all,” Thornton said after the game. “Great ball, I ran a good route, I just didn’t finish. I’ve got to catch the ball.
“I’m a sore loser. I hate losing. I hate losing more than I like winning. Losing is something that wears on me a lot. If I catch that pass, maybe we go kick a field goal and we’re up 10-7 going into halftime and that changes the whole trajectory of the game. … That just shows me that I have to constantly keep working harder on tracking the ball more.”
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