Broncos Lose Opener at Oakland 24-16

The Broncos went into Oakland on Monday Night Football for the season opener and promptly got stomped by the Raiders 24-16 to start the 2019 season. It wasn't the night we all hoped for and expected, and it certainly was not the way you want to start the season. Here are my thoughts and observations from the game....

1) The Raiders came out and scored on their first possession and completely controlled the game from there. Derek Carr sliced the Broncos with quick passes and rookie RB Josh Jacobs ran well and hard all night long. The Broncos defense had no answer for the Raiders gameplan. There was no pass rush and they had trouble getting the Raiders off the field on third downs.

2) Give Jon Gruden credit because he had his team ready to play and completely outcoached Vic Fangio on this night. The quick passing game made it very difficult for Von Miller or Bradley Chubb to get to Carr. He was basically untouched the whole game.

3) I'm not going to kill Joe Flacco in this game because I don't think he played bad at all. The problem was the Broncos were down 14-0 early in the game, and they were on the road with a shaky offensive line. Flacco didn't have time in some key situations, and he isn't mobile so that is what caused some sacks on those key downs in the first half.

4) Once the Broncos finally got going and cut the lead to 14-3 in the third quarter, Flacco hit DaeSean Hamilton with a perfect pass in the endzone on 3rd and goal, and Hamilton flat-out dropped the ball and the Broncos had to settle for a FG to make it 14-6. That was a killer moment for the Broncos.

5) Even when Denver cut the lead to 24-16 late in the 4th quarter, I never felt comfortable that they were going to get the ball back. The Raiders picked up a first down and ran out the clock to secure the win. The game never felt in doubt for the Raiders all night long.

6) The Broncos entered as favorites due to the Antonio Brown drama the Raiders dealt with in the week leading up to the game, but they came out fired up and Gruden had them ready to go. They used the Brown saga as a rallying point and they were the better team on this night.

7) The Broncos are sent licking their wounds as they dropped Vic Fangio's debut as a head coach. The part that was disappointing the most was the fact that their defense got run over by the Raiders and had no answers for the Oakland offense all night. We knew the Broncos offense wasn't going to light it up on the road, but I expected the defense to play well and they didn't.

8) This game made me feel like nothing has changed from the last two years. Bad offensive football, poor defense, no adjustments, and the feeling that the Broncos are used to getting outcoached and outplayed. The Broncos are used to losing the last two years, and this game was the exact mirror of those two years. It is only one game, and the Broncos started 3-1 and 2-0 the last two years only to have miserable seasons, but you always want to win the first game, and it was disappointing how it played out.

9) The Broncos return home to Mile High and host the 0-1 Bears next Sunday. Vic Fangio gets to go against his old team, and it will be interesting to see how this team plays at home instead of on the road.