Feast Mode: Broncos swallow run, chew up Raiders

DENVER — A game between the Oakland Raiders and the Denver Broncos is never without excitement.

While it seemed as if the Broncos should have dominated at times, the game remained close and interesting until the very end. Despite a missed fake punt, a third quarter in which their offense totaled -6 yards, and the loss of their starting quarterback, Derek Carr, to a back injury, the pesky Raiders kept things nervously close.

Everything started off perfectly for the Broncos in a first quarter that went smoothly for both the offense and defense, adding up to an early 10-0 lead. The two scoring drives for Denver included an incredible one-handed touchdown grab by A.J. Derby.

By the beginning of the second quarter, Carr was 3-for-6 for 16 yards while Trevor Siemian was 7-of-10 for 115 yards and a touchdown. Things would even out after that.

Shortly afterward, Raiders receiver Jhonny Holton was beating Darian Stewart deep for a 64-yard touchdown that made the game a real contest, 10-7, capping off an improbable 99-yard drive from the Raiders.

Starting the half 10-7, it was again all Orange & Blue as Oakland totaled -6 yards in the third quarter and then lost their quarterback on an Adam Gotsis sack.

Still, Denver struggled to put Oakland away, even after a botched fake Raiders punt that gifted them great field position. The Broncos couldn’t capitalize and found themselves settling for a field goal that Brandon McManus missed, his third miss of the season.

While Vance Joseph’s crew kept struggling to close things out offensively, Oakland found a spark with backup quarterback E.J. Manuel who drove them down for a field goal to close the gap to 16-10.

In the end, though, the defense closed things out just as Manuel had the offense driving down the field once again. Justin Simmons skyed high over Amari Cooper to get the game-sealing interception, the Broncos winning the game by just six, 16-10, in what seemed like a potential blowout at times.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Riley Dixon was spectacular in this game, and every punt he had was necessary to win this one. Dixon had six punts for an average of 45.2 per kick and had three inside the Oakland 20, most of which were inside Oakland’s own 10-yard line. In a good game for special teams, Dixon stood out and was crucial as he outplayed Broncos’ nemesis, Marquette King.

PLAY OF THE GAME

How could there be any other play outside of the Broncos lone touchdown? An A.J. Derby one-handed grab that he took in the whole way to the end zone.

ONE-HANDED ALL THE WAY.

What a catch by @AJ_Derby! #BroncosCountry #OAKvsDEN https://t.co/JCN7EkkqZu

— NFL (@NFL) October 1, 2017

QUOTE OF THE GAME

“Justin is obviously a great young player. That play he made tonight was a big-time play.”

– Head coach Vance Joseph on Justin Simmons game-ending pick.

BY THE NUMBERS

24-143 – Denver out ran Oakland by 119 yards. A true testament to the domination on the ground on both sides of the ball.

26-to-32 – Denver’s pass to run ratio in this game as the offense was much more balanced.

0-4 – Denver’s red zone conversion record. Not good.

95 – The Broncos have held Melvin Gordon, Ezekiel Elliot, LeSean McCoy and Marshawn Lynch to 95 yards combined in four games.

LASTING IMPACT

Beating the Raiders while in the Mile High City was a must win. The division rivals fall to 2-and-2 on the season while Denver is up to 3-and-1, nipping at the heels of the Kansas City Chiefs.

The greater impact here might be Carr’s injury, which could be absolutely season-altering for Oakland. After a great start, the Denver offense is beginning to show chinks in their armor, as the running game hasn’t been nearly as dynamic and the Broncos two-star receivers aren’t dominating as they were.

Defensively, the Broncos once again imposed themselves, particularly against the run. The safeties, though, have shown some lapses for two consecutive weeks now, A concerning trend.

WHAT’S NEXT

Denver now has an extremely early bye week before they take on their two other divisional rivals, the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs, right after they square off with the New York Giants Week 6 on Sunday Night Football.