The Broncos defeated the Raiders in Denver on Sunday 16-10. Any win in the division is huge, and this one over the Raiders now gives Denver a 2-0 record in the AFC West, and the Broncos are now 3-1 heading into their bye week. This wasn't the prettiest victory and it felt like the Broncos were the better team and dominated the game for most of it, but it still came down to the end with a Justin Simmons interception to seal the win. As Broncos fans, we'll take it and be happy going into our bye week. Here are my "Five Points" about this game....
1) This was like a classic 2015 Broncos win. The offense started fast, got an early lead, then fizzled out. It was close at the end and the defense bailed them out late in the game. This was how they won the Super Bowl two years ago, and this was how they won this game on Sunday. As I said back in 2015, I'll take this kind of game anyday with this group. They love playing in these type of games. It's like they feed off it.
2) A.J. Derby made one of best catches of the year, and it was one of the best one-handed catches you will ever see. It was a great catch and punctuated a great drive to give Denver a 7-0 lead. I like Derby a lot, and that drive was a great drive, but the Broncos couldn't do much after that drive. He finished with 4 catches for 75 yards. I also have to applaud C.J. Anderson on his 95 yards rushing and Jamaal Charles looked explosive once again. I like the way C.J. and Jamaal are running the ball so far this year. Anderson had a couple of big runs to set up Broncos field goals.
3) The Broncos completely shut down Marshawn Lynch and the Raiders running game. They took Lynch out of the game and he was a non-factor. Outside of the one touchdown drive that went for 99 yards, the Broncos defense completely dominated Derek Carr, and even knocked him out of the game with a back injury. I thought the big series was when they stuffed Marshawn Lynch on a 4th and 1 in the second quarter. It sent a message that the Raiders were going to have a tough time moving the ball on them in this game. Give props to the Broncos run defense not only for this game but for the entire season so far.
4) A huge sequence was when the Raiders went for a fake punt at their own 33 with only 2:30 left in the third quarter. I know Brandon McManus missed a 29 yard field goal and the Broncos squandered a chance to go up 19-7. It didn't result in points but the fake punt by the Raiders seemed like they were in desperation mode by going for the fake punt there. It looked like they had no confidence in their offense at all.
5) You hate to see this game come down to the end, and it would have been a brutal defeat-especially at the hands of E.J. Manuel, who was replacing Carr, but Justin Simmons stepped up and saved the day with an interception at the Denver 8 with only 1:56 left in the game. It was a type of win that typifies this team the last two or three seasons. The Broncos are now 3-1 and head into their bye with a confidence that they can be a team that will be a playoff contender come January.
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