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The Denver Broncos dominated the Oakland Raiders. And they nearly lost anyway. The question we should have from this team centers around Trevor Siemian and Mike McCoy’s play calling in games.
The run game needs to be a bigger focus, but so far that hasn’t been the case in critical moments and that is a major point of frustration.
They held on to this win much like they held on to the win over the Los Angeles Chargers. There is no telling how long the team can keep that up. It feels like soon the offense will need to start scoring more points.
First Quarter
The first quarter went the Broncos way as they racked up nearly 150 yards in total offense and held the Raiders to three consecutive three and outs to start the game.
A.J. Derby made the play of the quarter with this one-handed touchdown grab from Trevor Siemian early on.
This catch, though. #BeatTheRaiders pic.twitter.com/Bhc2oFqHnb
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) October 1, 2017
There was little that didn’t go Denver’s way early on, except for a long kickoff return late in the quarter that Oakland turned into another three and out at midfield.
Second Quarter
The Broncos began to get away from the run in the second quarter and coincidentally do did their ability to sustain drives.
Trevor Siemian is 1-5 in games where he throws 40 or more passes & is 8-1 when throwing 35 or less. He has 17 in the first half.
— MileHighReport (@MileHighReport) October 1, 2017
The Raiders, on the other hand, came alive on offense to shred the No Fly Zone left and right. Derek Carr led the Raiders on a 99-yard drive to bring the game back into doubt heading into halftime.
Third Quarter
Momentum shifted back the Broncos way in the third quarter with two field goal drives to make things a two-score affair, but then things got weird as the Raiders went with a fake punt that failed near their own red zone. That happened soon after Carr went down with a back injury that likely spelled doom on the Oakland bench.
The quarter ended with the Broncos on the verge of putting up more points in a close, defensive game.
Fourth Quarter
Without Carr, the Raiders offense went from having at least the pass working for them to having nothing working for them. Von Miller got his first sack of the game to end one drive, while Siemian continued to struggle on offense.
He had 115 yards passing in the first quarter alone, but had just 150 to start the fourth. The inconsistently left plenty of points on the board as it felt like the Broncos should have been up big in this game.
Instead, the Broncos kept throwing the ball ineffectively - completely abandoning their run game in favor of throwing. And predictably, they were on the verge of choking the game away.
Then Justin Simmons happened, intercepting an EJ Manuel pass inside the 10-yard line to seal victory.
Broncos 16, Raiders 10.