The streak lasted seven games last week. That's seven straight losses for the Raiders. Two of those losses came at the hands of the Broncos, meaning that after four seasons of the Raiders defeating their Denver rivals, the tide has officially turned.
This time they made a game of it and led into the third quarter before the new normal finally returned.
Baller
DE Maxx Crosby, DE Tyree Wilson
Crosby failed three tackles, putting him over 100 for his career, joining several Hall of Fame-level NFL greats. While Wilson had by far the best game of his career.
Wilson came under pressure, which led to a one-yard run stuff, and the Broncos' first drive ended with a punt one play later.
Late in the first quarter, the Broncos shot into scoring range, but on third down Crosby managed to get the tackle to jump early, and then on third-and-long he showed why the tackle jumped by applying pressure for a To force unfinished. They settled for a field goal.
The Broncos' next drive moved into scoring range again, and Crosby and Wilson stopped it. With Denver on first down at the 26, Crosby got his first tackle for loss, and on third down, Wilson got right in the gut on a stunt for a sack for an 11-yard loss. As a result, the Broncos converted a 53-yard field goal and secured the Raiders' lead 7-6.
Towards the end of the second quarter, the Broncos got close to the goal again. On first down at the 32, Wilson darted into the backfield to make an open-field tackle for a five-yard loss. And once again they had to settle for a long field goal while preserving a 10-9 Raiders lead.
The first interception of the game gave the Broncos the ball at the Vegas 18. And on first down, Wilson made the stop for no gain. They would still score the touchdown on the next play and take a 16-13 lead.
Crosby and Wilson would limit it to a three-point play, with Crosby making the tackle on a two-yard catch and he and Wilson applying pressure on third down to force an incompletion.
Early in the third quarter, with the Broncos back within striking distance, Crosby made consecutive tackles for loss to force another Broncos field goal and limit the game to one point. Wilson added a tackle for loss late in the game, but then it was too late and the Broncos added a field goal to tie the game.
P AJ Cole
Weapon. Cole held the Broncos tight all day. And a little more. His first punt was a pooch punt that was fair caught at the 11-yard line. His second punt came from his own end zone and he fired it 60 yards with no return as it went out of bounds.
His next play was not with his leg but with his arm. The Raiders surprised the Broncos. Cole sold it well, caught the snap and turned it as if he was going to punt it, but instead he pulled it back and threw a pass to Divine Deablo, who made the catch easy and took it 34 yards to the Denver 30. They got a field goal out of it, making it a 10-6 game.
After losing the lead in the third quarter, Cole had another nice punt that DJ Turner collected at the one-yard line. Four punts. Three without a return, two inside 20 yards, one on one down and one with a net of 60 yards. And passing off the fake. Play a game, AJ.
WR Jakobi Meyers
Two games ago, Meyers had his first 100-yard receiving game with the Raiders. Now he has two. And surpassed the last one. Jakobi finished the game with 121 yards on ten catches.
Late in the second quarter, he made a tough catch while also being rammed in the back by a defender. It took 18 yards to get them into field goal range and take a 13-9 halftime lead.
He drew a pass interference penalty on third down to put the team ahead in the fourth quarter, putting the team within field goal range and cutting the Broncos' lead to 19-16. On the next drive, he had four catches for 42 yards to keep the one-score game alive and give the Raiders a chance late. It was the strip sack on the next drive that killed their chance.
RB Ameer Abdulla
He scored the Raiders' only touchdown of the game. He also had 65 yards on 13 touches
Honorable mention
RB Dylan Laube – His 59-yard kick return set up the Raiders' only touchdown of the day. And it gave him a much better final memory than fumbling his only offensive carry of the season.
LB Divine Deablo – Scored the 34-yard fake punt catch and added five tackles for the defense.
