Running down the significant stats and notable numbers following the Denver Broncos’ 30-20 loss to the Oakland Raiders on Sunday night.
We start with the Broncos’ offense, which opened the game with four straight three-and-out possessions and finished with only 299 total yards, 13 first downs and converted 3-of-12 third and fourth downs. Most notably, though, the Orange & Blue rushed for a season-low 33 yards on 12 carries against a Silver & Black defense that came into the night allowing 125 yards per game. Now, the Broncos have failed to rush for at least 90 yards in six of their last seven games after running for 148 and 134 in their first two contests.
As a result, Denver only possessed the ball for 18 minutes and 32 seconds in the game – a franchise single-game low going back at least through 1983 (when Pro Football Reference’s database began tracking TOP stats) and dates even further to 1978 according to the NBC telecast Sunday night.
Trevor Siemian finished with what appear to be decent numbers, completing 18-of-37 passes for 283 yards, two TDs, one interception and one fumble. But apart from the 69-yard screen-pass touchdown to Kapri Bibbs, on which the latter did the bulk of the work, Siemian finished 17-of-36 for 214 yards, one TD, one pick and one fumble. After completing 65.7 percent of his passes in his first four games, Siemian’s completion percentage has been 60 percent or lower in his last four outings.
According to Pro Football Focus, Siemian finished with a 110.6 quarterback rating without pressure and a 53.4 rating with pressure. And he was under pressure on 21 of his 39 dropbacks.
Of Siemian’s 36 targets, 21 went to starting wideouts Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, but the duo only caught 10 of those 21 targets for 103 yards and no TDs.
The Raiders, meanwhile, rushed 43 times for 218 yards – the franchise’s best single-game mark since Week 2 of the 2013 season and the most the Broncos have allowed in a game since Week 5 of the 2012 campaign. Denver allowed only 83.6 rushing yards per game during the 2015 regular season but has surrendered 83 or more yards in all but one game (72 yards in the Week 4 win over the Buccaneers) this year. Through Sunday’s games, only the Dolphins (136.1), Browns (146.4) and 49ers (193.0) are allowing more rushing yards per game than the Orange & Blue’s 128.6.
The Broncos’ D failed to force a turnover Sunday night, snapping its streak of 14 straight games with at least one takeaway. The last Denver opponent to not turn the ball over prior to Sunday was this same Oakland team in its 15-12 Week 14 win in Denver last Dec. 13.
Oakland QB Derek Carr, who came into the contest averaging 290.1 passing yards and 2.1 TD passes per game this season, finished 20-of-31 for a season-low 184 yards. He failed to throw a scoring pass for the first time in his last 15 outings, dating back to Week 11 of last season as opposing teams continue to attack the Denver defense’s weaknesses rather than play into its strengths.
The Broncos were penalized 12 times for 104 yards in the game, and half of the flags – and 63 of the 104 yards – were assessed for pass interference/defensive holding on the Aqib Talib-less Denver secondary. Another defensive holding penalty on Chris Harris Jr. in the game was declined.
Even with the loss, the Broncos still are tied with the Falcons for the league’s fifth-best record at 6-3. Due to the strength of the AFC West, though, Denver would finish as the AFC’s sixth and final playoff seed if the season ended today and would visit the third-seeded and 5-3 Texans in the wild-card round.
