The Broncos have been notoriously slow starters on offense this season — and this game has been no exception — but lucky for them, the Raiders haven’t been any better. The AFC West rivals enter halftime tied 7-7.
Las Vegas opened the scoring on its second offensive drive. After a poor punt from rookie punter Jeremy Crawshaw, Geno Smith completed a couple of passes for first downs, and Ashton Jeanty capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run.
Denver had zero first downs on its first four drives — the first time that’s happened this season and the first time the Raiders defense has accomplished that feat since 2016 — before a J.K. Dobbins run moved the chains to start Denver’s fifth drive. Two plays later, Bo Nix found rookie Pat Bryant for a big gain, and two plays after that, Nix found former college teammate Troy Franklin for a touchdown.
The Raiders have wasted several good opportunities. On the opening drive, Smith took a sack to push them out of field goal range. On their fourth drive, the Raiders got down to the Denver 31-yard line, but an offensive pass interference led to another punt. On Las Vegas’ fifth drive, Smith took a sack on fourth-and-5, setting up a short field that Denver eventually turned into a touchdown. Overall, Smith has been sacked five times.
Nix made a head-scratching deep throw late in the half that Kyu Blu Kelly intercepted, but again, Las Vegas couldn’t take advantage, as Dont’e Thornton dropped a deep Smith pass.
Raiders punter AJ Cole has arguably been the best player in this game, with two of his punts going out of bounds at the Denver 1-yard line. That tells you the state of the Las Vegas offense.
It’s been ugly so far, but Denver has been known for its second-half rallies. Can it pull off another one? Keep up with our coverage below.
