Never lose faith, Broncos fans!

After being shutout by the Oakland Raiders at home in the first half, the Denver Broncos came out with renewed vigor in the secon. Whatever took place in the locker room during intermission, the Broncos need to bottle that and put it in the Gatorade buckets.

I’m not going to lie. The offense in the first half looked like plays were being called from Trevor Siemian’s 2017 playbook. Whatever (gestures generally) that was, it’s time to bury it deep in the trashcan so nobody can dig it out.

Philip Lindsay notched his second 100-yard rushing performance in this young season on Sunday. If there was any doubt going into the game against the Raiders, the Broncos need to put the ball in Lindsay’s hands more. Make no mistake, good things happen when #30 has it.

The great Broncos coach Dan Reeves always said that, “if you can touch it, you should catch it”. It’s frustrating when Demaryius Thomas has balls hit him in the hands that he can’t haul in. When he’s hot, he’s scorching. When he’s not, it’s damn near fatal to the offense. The Broncos seem to have more success when they spread the ball around, much like they did with Tim Patrick’s incredible reception that made the win possible on Sunday.

There are still problems in the defensive secondary. Quick passes that took advantage flat footed defensive backs nearly did Denver in. Clearly, other teams will notice the success the Raiders had in frustrating the pass rush. Definitely something to keep an eye on.

Lighten up! The Broncos won! Okay, to the defense’s credit, when it counted most, they clamped down and stopped the Raiders to win the game. Derek Carr was well on his way to a career day, connecting on all but three of his passes in the game. When you have someone under center who can’t miss, it’s remarkable the adjustments that were made to contain that firepower.

It’s never a bad day when the Broncos beat the Raiders. Broncos Country should be pumped at the resolve that Denver showed on Sunday. The 2017 Broncos would have rolled over and given up. The 2018 Broncos fought valiantly and their efforts paid dividends. Next up? Baltimore in Baltimore. Let’s get to work.

HORSE TRACKS

Lack of Mack-like pressure a big reason Raiders are now 0-2 – Las Vegas Review-Journal
DENVER — There were under two minutes remaining in a football game the Raiders had led all Sunday, under two minutes until they could depart with a road victory over a division rival, and this was the scene along their defensive line:

NFL Scores 2018: Oakland Raiders vs. Denver Broncos RECAP, score, stats (9/16/18) | NFL Week 2 | NJ.com
The Oakland Raiders (0-1), led by quarterback Derek Carr, meet the Denver Broncos (1-0), led by quarterback Case Keenum, in an AFC West matchup in an NFL Week 2 football game on September 16, 2018 (9/16/18) at Broncos Stadium at Mile High in Denver, Colorado.

Raiders lose 20-19 to Broncos on last-minute field goal - SFChronicle.com
DENVER — Holding a two-point lead with less than two minutes remaining, a Raiders defense that had shut out the Broncos for the first half Sunday took the field needing one more stop. “We have a chance to shut them” down, linebacker Derrick Johnson said. “As a defense, we’ve got to be licking our chops and saying, ‘Hey, let’s go. Here we go.’” Instead, it was the Broncos who went 62 yards in 10 plays, driving from their 20-yard-line to set up a 36-yard field goal by Brandon McManus in a 20-19 win that that sunk the Raiders to 0-2 to start the second Jon Gruden era. It was a crushing end to a game the Raiders had mostly controlled, leading 12-0 at halftime, and echoed a troubling facet of their loss to the Rams last Monday night.

Broncos are 2-0, but high-powered opponents will be a big defensive challenge - Denver Broncos Blog- ESPN
Derek Carr picked apart Denver's defense, even in the loss. With the Rams and Chiefs, among others, coming, Broncos need to find secondary answers.

Marquette King of Denver Broncos takes shot at Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden in social media post
Broncos punter Marquette King, who was released by the Raiders in March, appeared to take aim at his former coach Jon Gruden in a video posted to Twitter that featured a Chucky doll with money stuffed in its mouth.

Raiders' Jon Gruden, Reggie McKenzie likely heading for a split before 2019 NFL Draft - CBSSports.com
Sources around the league expect this to be McKenzie's last year with the franchise

Raiders vs. Broncos highlights | Week 2
Watch the best plays from the Week 2 matchup between the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos.

Victory Speech: Broncos vs. Raiders
Take a trip into the Broncos' locker room to hear Head Coach Vance Joseph's speech to the team following a 20-19 win over the Oakland Raiders.

With second 100-yard day, Phillip Lindsay adds another historic night to his young career
But for Phillip Lindsay, Sunday’s win wasn’t about him — far from it.

'Once we got that stop, it was over for them': Broncos' defense comes up with late stop, and not a moment too soon
Denver's defense allowed two late first downs, but with its back against the wall, it got off the field.

Why it happened: Broncos 20, Raiders 19
After a frustrating first half, the Broncos turned up the fire on the hottest afternoon for an NFL regular-season game ever played in Denver, wearing out Oakland after halftime.

Capping a comeback: The anatomy of a game-winning drive
Quarterback Case Keenum helped lead the Broncos to a come-from-behind win.

Broncos 20, Raiders 19 « CBS Denver

Denver Broncos Help Raise Record-Setting $115,00 For Alzheimer’s Research « CBS Denver
More than 100 Denver Broncos employees came together this weekend to support Team Bowlen.

Bills' Vontae Davis retires at halftime of Chargers loss, says 'I shouldn't be out there anymore' - CBSSports.com
Davis explained why he quit in the middle of the game and left the stadium

Clay Matthews rips the 'terrible' roughing penalty that allowed the Vikings to tie the Packers - CBSSports.com
The Packers linebacker thinks the NFL is going overboard with its protection of quarterbacks

Patriots vs. Jaguars final score, takeaways: Jacksonville, Bortles make statement with dominant win - CBSSports.com
The Jaguars took down the Patriots eight months after blowing a 10-point lead in the AFC title game

Ryan Fitzpatrick channels Conor McGregor with epic press conference look after big day - CBSSports.com
Fitzpatrick had another 400-plus-yard, four-touchdown day

Damontae Kazee ejected, deserves suspension and fine for this dirty hit on Cam Newton - CBSSports.com
The Falcons safety went head hunting and he paid the price

Josh Gordon reacts to shocking Browns news, hopes he's traded to one of these two teams - CBSSports.com
The Browns wide receiver is already eyeing two potential teams that he wants to play for

Saquon Barkley catches 14 passes, for a stunningly low 80 yards – ProFootballTalk
When the Giants took running back Saquon Barkley with the second overall pick in the NFL draft, they were surely expecting him to do a lot more than catch six-yard checkdown passes. But that's primarily what he did on Sunday night.

Sunday Night wrap-up: Dak Prescott bounces back from opener – ProFootballTalk
As stat lines go, it wasn't much to look at. But the Cowboys got to double digits on the scoreboard and they didn't lose, so it's reasonable to declare progress for Dak Prescott.

Ryan Fitzpatrick: This offense is a quarterback’s dream – ProFootballTalk
Ryan Fitzpatrick's four touchdown performance against the Saints was the biggest surprise of Week One and it was hard to find predictions that he'd match that outing against the Eagles in Week Two. That's just what Fitzpatrick did, however.

Is it Josh Rosen time already in Arizona? – ProFootballTalk
Just when the Cardinals thought things couldn't get worse, they got worse. A week after gaining 213 yards of offense in a 24-6 loss to Washington, the Cardinals gained 137 yards in a 34-0 loss to the Rams.

Giants center Jon Halapio leaves in air cast, on cart – ProFootballTalk
Giants center Jon Halapio left in the third quarter with what appears to be a serious injury. The team's medical personnel put Halapio's right leg in an air cast and helped him onto the cart. He waved to his teammates as he left the field. John Greco replaced Halapio at center.

Quandre Diggs of Detroit Lions rips fourth-quarter holding call
Lions defensive back Quandre Diggs says a holding call against him that negated a potentially game-changing interception was "awful" because it wasn't holding and it was away from the ball. "I don't feel like you make that call at the end," Diggs said.

Cardinals coach Steve Wilks hints at lineup changes after shutout
Changes to the Arizona Cardinals' lineup could be coming next week in the wake of Sunday's 34-0 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, coach Steve Wilks said after the game.

Brash Jaguars show their growth in win over Patriots - NFL.com
The Jaguars are brash and bold and, most importantly on Sunday, smart enough to have learned from how they lost the AFC Championship Game to the Patriots.

Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs' offense cover for woeful defense in win - NFL.com
Patrick Mahomes has been flawless through two games, throwing 10 touchdown passes against zero picks in leading the Chiefs' high-octane offense. Jeffri Chadiha writes the young QB is showing no signs of slowing down.

Vikings' Carlson on OT misses: 'I let my team down' - NFL.com
The Minnesota Vikings nearly escaped Green Bay with a win, if it weren't for three missed field goals by rookie kicker Daniel Carlson, including two in overtime.

Myles Garrett: No one expected Josh Gordon news - NFL.com
The Browns plan to release wide receiver Josh Gordon on Monday. Gordon's soon to be former teammates were surprised about the team moving on from the veteran player.