The Denver Broncos hosted the Las Vegas Raiders for a division rivalry matchup on Thursday Night Football. While the Broncos were hoping to play a complete game , it was another ugly one. At the end of
four quarters, Denver was once again victorious defeating the Raiders 10-7. That marks seven wins in a row and eight total after ten games. Let’s get into some instant reactions and takeaways from tonight.
Another “Yikes!” performance by Bo Nix and the Broncos’ offense.
Everyone across Broncos Country was hoping for Bo Nix and the Broncos’ offense to have a fast start against the Raiders. They’ve struggled mightily in that regard this season and have only scored first only once in ten contests.
Unfortunately, it was another slow start offense for Denver’s offense to start the game. Their first four drives resulted in three-and-outs and took very little time off the clock. They finally obtained a first down on a J.K. Dobbins run to the outside on their fifth drive late in the second quarter. After that, a 43-yard catch and run by Pat Bryant was the prelude to the eventual 7-yard touchdown grab by Troy Franklin.
With a good stop by the defense, the Broncos had one last drive to end the half. However, it was an absolute failure plagued by penalties and ended in Bo Nix moonball into double coverage that was intercepted. The scoring drive was great. Everything else from the Broncos—absolutely horrendous. They had more penalties than first downs in the first half. You simply can’t have four three-and-outs and a turnover in five of your first six offensive possessions.
In the second half of the game, it was much more of the same. Denver kept stacking penalties, dropping passes, and couldn’t find their groove whatsoever. I felt the Raiders’ defense did a good job in the trenches against the Broncos’ offense line. That caused some problems for Nix, who looked awfully uncomfortable and flustered in the pocket. His footwork and ball placement was some of the worst we have seen all season.
Halfway through the third quarter, Nix had another interception on a pass that sailed passed Bryant and went off Franklin’s hands into a Raiders’ defensive backs hands. At first glance, I’m not even sure that ball was intended for #11. Either way, the end result was emblematic of how lackluster the offense was all game long. And quite frankly, how uninspiring it has been throughout their ‘25 campaign.
Nix finished the game going 16-of-28 for 150 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. The same mistakes keep happening over and over again. It’s getting absolutely maddening. They have a little bit more time to get things going in the right direction before playing the Kansas City Chiefs next week, but I’m extremely concerned with how bad the passing game looked tonight.
The defense did their part dialing up the heat on Geno Smith and erasing Brock Bowers from the game.
While the offense and special teams have struggled all year long, Denver’s defense has been terrific for the most part. Make no mistake about it—the Broncos don’t have even close to the number of wins they do without their stellar efforts. That’s why the team has been successful. And unless things change in short order, that appears to be the only way they can win.
One key to the game for me was putting pressure on Geno Smith and forcing him into bad throws. The Broncos’ defense started off hot notching five sacks in the first half. They were only able to add one more in the second half, but certainly rattled Smith into some bad decisions. Edge rusher Dondrea Tillman was able to come up with a big interception in the third quarter, but the Broncos’ dreadful offense couldn’t take advantage of it.
The big win for Denver’s defense tonight? They held Brock Bowers in check. He was able to best rookie defensive back Jahdae Barron for a 31-yard catch early in the game. After that? Absolutely nothing from the All-Pro tight end. Defensive Vance Joseph had his guys ready to play today. Kudos to him and his players for making Bowers a ghost in primetime.
Considering how bad the offense and special teams were, what they accomplished tonight was fantastic. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again—just think of how much better they can be once the offense starts pulling their weight and can finally generate first downs and sustain drives. Yet, I’m not going to hold my breath on that one.
Ugly wins are wins, but this isn’t going to cut it against good teams.
Ugly wins are wins. There is no doubt about it. Getting the dub is all that matters. Denver is now 8-2. That’s fantastic. But this game was sloppy from start to finish. And it’s not something that can keep happening if Denver wants to beat good teams down the stretch.
Penalties? A ton of them for both teams. 22 throughout the entire game. For the Broncos? They wound up with 11. Game after game, week after week, Denver finds a way to shoot themselves in the foot. They were Top 4 in the league in penalties before tonight’s game, I’d be surprised if they didn’t get to the top of the charts after it. There are a lot of things going wrong on offense. Too many to fix quickly. Overcoming penalties? They have to clean it up. It’s not acceptable and it’s likely the easiest to rectify.
Bad decisions? Nix’s interception into double coverage was awful. That’s a ball you just don’t throw. But what was that third down throw behind the line of scrimmage to Courtland Sutton on third and short in the middle of the second quarter? That was the play right before Wil Lutz fell short on a 59-yard field goal attempt. I have absolutely no idea what Head Coach Sean Payton was thinking there with that play. Why not just run there?
How about special teams? Jeremy Crashaw has been consistent for most of the season. He has been a bright most weeks. Tonight? He was an absolute dud and started off the game with three shanks that gave the Raiders tremendous field position. It appeared to be quite windy, but I can’t imagine that had such a negative impact on what he was trying to do. At least J.L. Skinner was able to get a huge punt block and recovery late in the third quarter, because there was nothing positive to write home about in that phase of the game besides that.
