There was one important takeaway from the Broncos win over the Raiders

The Denver Broncos came away with a big time comeback win over the Oakland Raiders. Beating a division rival is always important, but this win was extra sweet. Most fans went into the game thinking it would be an easy win. It wasn’t, but as Ian St. Clair and I said on the MHR Radio Podcast, it said a lot about this team.

There is no doubt that the first half was filled with disappointments. The Broncos first three possessions ended in three-and-outs. The fourth was a poorly thrown ball resulting in an interception just as the Broncos looked like they were going to score. The defense bent, but did not break in those possessions.

After holding the Raiders to two field goals during the team’s offensive ineptitude, Oakland finally broke through at the end of the second half. After a nearly 5-minute drive, Marshawn Lynch punched in a one-yard touchdown run. This score led to what may have been the play of the game.

On the ensuing extra point try, Shaquil Barrett broke through the line and got a hand on the kick. Heading into the locker room at halftime the Broncos were being shutout, but Barrett’s block seemed like it could be a turning point. And it would certainly factor in at the end of the game.

However, the one big thing Denver did that led to victory was to never surrender. It may feel cliché, but the Broncos never gave up, or rolled over. For the second week in a row, Case Keenum brought the team back. Even in the final drive the Broncos overcame the adversity of Demaryius Thomas dropping an easy pass.

When Tim Patrick caught the short pass from Keenum and took it out to the 18-yard line, the comeback was all but complete. Brandon McManus set up for 36-yard field goal, which he promptly kicked through the uprights. Marquette King gave him some enthusiastic head butts, and the Broncos were 2-0.

It was nowhere near a perfect game for Denver. The Broncos had two touchdown passes taken away from them by bad replay calls. Thomas had the drops. The offense was not just shut out, but shut down in the first half. Derek Carr had a near perfect game. There were a plethora of moments to choose from that helped get the Broncos to 2-0. However, there was only one big thing that got the Broncos their big win.

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