Postgame Cold Snacks: The Broncos’ loss to the Raiders felt like a bad rerun

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Broncos are lucky they weren’t on Broadway. If they were, the reviews of their opening night would have been harsh, and the show would have closed after nine performances.

They get 15 more shots following their 24-16 loss to the Oakland Raiders. And given that their last three regular-season openers in the post-Peyton Manning era drew rave reviews, there’s something to be said for how Week 1 can deceive.

But the first glimpse of the Broncos in what appeared to be one of their most winnable games was one that made all of Colorado wince. Not just because of the loss, but because of the numbing familiarity of it.

The head coach and much of his staff are new. Over one-third of the roster is new, including the starting quarterback. The schemes were new.

But the game was pockmarked with the same kind of issues that plagued the Broncos in recent years.

THE RAIDERS PICKED ON ISAAC YIADOM

It started with two passes from Derek Carr to Raiders tight end Darren Waller on the first series, and it never let up from there. Waller gained 11 and 25 yards on those two catches, and Carr continued to target Yiadom throughout the game.

Oakland’s longest gain saw Carr lock in on Yiadom, who was in single coverage on Tyrell Williams. With the Raiders in third-and-1 and the Broncos bringing their safeties into the box, Carr fired a 43-yard strike to Williams, who gained enough separation via his cut on the post route to make the catch without any difficulty, moving Oakland to the Denver 29-yard line.

Seven plays later, the Raiders scored to push their lead to 14 points.

The Raiders eventually clinched the game at Yiadom’s expense. Facing 3rd-and-8 inside the two-minute warning, Carr flew a screen pass to Williams, with Yiadom lining up eight yards back of the line of scrimmage at the start of the play. Oakland left tackle Kolton Miller fired out and blocked Yiadom, allowing Williams to easily convert the third down and seal the game.

Oh, and as for the tight ends? Long a bugaboo for the Broncos’ defense, they caused problems once again, as Waller and rookie Foster Moreau combined for 90 yards on nine receptions.

THE RAIDERS WON THIRD DOWNS BECAUSE THEY WON FIRST AND SECOND DOWNS

Oakland converted 71 percent of its third-down tries, going 10-for-14. But the average Raiders third down saw them facing 3rd-and-4. Oakland went 5-of-5 on its third downs when it needed three or fewer yards, including three consecutive 3rd-and-1 conversions on their 95-yard drive in the second quarter.

The Broncos, meanwhile, had an average third down of 3rd-and-6. Denver went a respectable 6-of-13 on its third-down plays, but went just 2-of-7 when facing 3rd-and-5-or-longer.

NO PASS RUSH 

Derek Carr is known for his quick delivery and his reliance on short to intermediate routes, something the Broncos saw in their home win over the Raiders 12 months ago, when he completed 29 of his 32 passes, with just two of them covering more than 20 yards. The Broncos hit him just once that day.

Monday night, they didn’t hit him at all. Once again, Carr leaned into his short game, although he did have four connections for more than 20 yards, including 28- and 24-yard passes to Josh Jacobs and Williams that led directly to Oakland’s third touchdown, squelching any momentum Denver carried out of the third quarter.

“They never had to drop back very often and let routes develop, and the one time they did, we got beat outside,” Fangio said.

In the three games the Broncos have faced Carr since Jon Gruden became their head coach, Denver has just two sacks and four quarterback hits.

PENALTIES, PENALTIES, PENALTIES

Oakland had more penalties (9) and penalty yards (62) than the Broncos, who had six penalties accepted for 44 yards against them. But it was the timing of the Broncos’ infractions that was particularly galling.

A potential 36-yard catch-and-run by Courtland Sutton late in the first quarter became a 20-yard gain after Noah Fant made an illegal block above the waist downfield after the catch. The Broncos recovered from that to march to the Oakland 31-yard line, but a Ron Leary holding penalty knocked the Broncos out of field-goal range and into first-and-20 at the Raiders 41; they punted three plays later.

Fant’s second penalty, for holding, likely cost the Broncos three points. Instead of setting Brandon McManus up for a 48-yard field-goal attempt after a 6-yard completion from Joe Flacco to Royce Freeman, the Broncos were back at the Oakland 46. After an incompletion to Sanders, McManus’ 64-yard kick off the infield dirt fell short of the uprights, keeping the Broncos scoreless at halftime.