Why we shouldn't be surprised by the issues that doomed the Broncos in Oakland

Well, that certainly wasn’t the start anyone in Broncos Country envisioned.

But in reality, should it have been a surprise? Not necessarily the 16-24 loss to the Raiders in Denver’s last ever game in Oakland, but the many reasons they lost to their division rival.

Over the past few months, many questions emerged regarding aspects of the Broncos team. Many remained unanswered entering Monday night.

After 60 minutes of play, it became very clear those issues didn’t magically fix themselves overnight. Here are the main issues that carried over from the offseason that bit the Broncos behind to start the season.

Cornerback depth

Depth at cornerback was such an issue for the Broncos throughout training camp and the preseason, John Elway went and not only added one cornerback, but added two new corners after all five preseason games were over.

The major problem that was revealed on Monday night was where the depth issues at cornerback begin.

When building the team’s final 53-man roster, we said, “The Broncos feel great about their top four cornerbacks, but that’s it.”

Based on what we saw Monday night, that should have read “The Broncos feel great about their top cornerback, but that’s it.”

Much like last year, Chris Harris Jr. is the only cornerback the Broncos can feel comfortable about. Bryce Callahan, Denver’s No. 2 corner, was sidelined with a foot injury he suffered in the middle of camp and is “just not ready yet,” according to Vic Fangio. Health has always been the concern there.

Derek Carr looked at Fangio’s No. 3 cornerback, Isaac Yiadom, time and time again and was rewarded nearly every single time. Despite that, Fangio didn’t put De’Vante Bausby, Denver’s fourth corner, in to relieve Yiadom.

Cross your fingers that Bryce Callahan gets healthy and stays healthy.

Settling for field goals

The number of scoring opportunities wasn’t the Broncos issue on Monday night. Both Oakland and Denver each scored four times.

“Big difference in the game, they scored touchdowns, and we didn’t,” Fangio stated.

And it was as simple as that.

Three of the Raiders’ scores went into the end zone, while only one of Denver’s did—and that was in garbage time, too.

This was no different from what we saw in the preseason, where Denver’s first-team offense never found their way into the end zone, although they were able to earn a couple field goals.

Nothing changed on Monday night, other than the fact that it cost the Broncos a game that mattered.

Offensive line health

In terms of health, there was no bigger question mark on the team than the right side of Mike Munchak’s offensive line. Ja’Wuan James and Ron Leary—both players with an extensive injury history—missed numerous practices during camp.

It only took until the second quarter of the regular season for that to become an issue. On the same play, Leary was called for holding, James injured his knee and never came back in the game.

Talk about a double whammy.

Elijah Wilkinson—far and away Denver’s best backup offensive lineman—filled in for James. He even allowed a sack.

If James misses extended time—which history would say is very possible as he’s missed at least half a season every odd year, hello 2019—Wilkinson will remain at right tackle. The problem is Denver will be down to Corey Levin and Austin Schlottmann as their depth pieces on the line.

Not-so-special teams

There’s no other way to put it; special teams were a major concern throughout the entire preseason.

After giving up a 99-yard punt return to Dwayne Harris in Oakland in Week 16 last year, Denver looked like the same unit on Monday night, allowing the Raiders’ speedster to gallup 72 yards on a kick return.

The major issue with this was it immediately followed a Brandon McManus field goal to bring the game within 12 points in the fourth quarter. Harris’ special return on teams took the wind right out of Denver’s sails.

Drip drop

The Broncos’ receiving corps was droppin’ the ball like it was hot during training camp. Despite that, Joe Flacco believed the issue would resolve itself come the regular season.

Not only did the magical dust not find its way to Denver, the drops struck at the worst possible time.

On third down in the red zone, Flacco manipulated the secondary to allow DaeSean Hamilton to be sitting wide open in the front of the end zone, delivered a strike through Silver & Black defenders and found that beautiful ball on the ground.

The second-year receiver let the ball hit him directly in the chest, dropping what was an easy touchdown. Instead of walking off the field with Denver’s first touchdown of the season, the Broncos had to settle for yet another field goal.

The quantity of drops wasn’t the same as in the preseason and training camp, but the quality of the drop was much, much more impactful on Monday night.

As they say, you play like you practice.