Denver Broncos: 3 Takeaways vs. Raiders in Week 4
By Bruce Matson
The Denver Broncos was able to sneak away with a victory against the Oakland Raiders. Here are three takeaways from that game.
The Denver Broncos defense held the Oakland Raiders to just 24 yards on the ground and just 230 via the pass in their Week 4 matchup. Not to mention, Derek Carr exited the game with a back injury, hurting Oakland’s chances at winning the game. Even with Carr out during a large portion of the game, the contest was still close, but the Broncos managed to pull away with a 16-10 victory.
Denver was the first to put points on the board, scoring on a Trevor Siemian 22-yard touchdown pass to tight end A.J. Derby. Then with a 1:09 left to play in the quarter, Broncos’ kicker Brandon McManus nailed a 28-yard field goal to give the Broncos a 10-0 lead. The Raiders responded in the second quarter with a Derek Carr 64-yard touchdown strike to Johnny Holton, making the score 10-7 at halftime.
Brandon McManus converted two field goals in the third quarter, one for 36 yards and the other for 46 yards, extending Denver’s lead nine points.
Oakland tried their best to close the gap but they came up short. Raiders kicker, Giorgio Tavecchio, kicked a 38-yard field goal with 5:23 left in the game. It wasn’t enough, as the Raiders couldn’t figure out a way to put more points on the board before time ran out.
Related Story: Raiders vs. Broncos: Highlights and recap
This was a big win for the Broncos as it boosts their record to 3-1 giving them a one game lead over the 2-2 Raiders. The Los Angeles Chargers lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 26-24, giving them a horrendous 0-4 start to the season.
Things are looking good as the team heads into their bye week. When they come back, they will face the a currently winless New York Giants team who is having trouble getting anything going on both sides of the ball. After that, they will be on the road for three straight games, playing the Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Even though it was a low scoring affair, a lot happened in this game. Denver was fortunate to get the win, because there were moments in this game that could have drastically impacted the results of this game if the “ball” bounces the other way. With that being said, here are three takeaways from the Broncos win over the Raiders.