The Denver Broncos defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 29-19 on Sunday afternoon, securing their first-ever win at Allegiant Stadium. Broncos quarterback Bo Nix broke another record in the victory.
With two touchdown passes on Sunday, Nix now holds Denver’s rookie record for the most touchdown passes (16) in a season (with five games remaining).
The Broncos opened the scoring late in the first quarter with a 38-yard Wil Lutz field goal to take a 3-0 lead. After that, the Raiders returned a kickoff 59 yards and quarterback Gardner Minshew later threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Ameer Abdullah to make it 7-3. Lutz answered that with a 53-yard field goal to close the deficit to 7-6.
Las Vegas converted a fake punt on the next drive with a 34-yard pass from punter AJ Cole to linebacker Divine Deablo. That set up a 34-yard Daniel Carlson field goal that extended the Raiders lead to 10-6. After that, Lutz converted a 54-yard field goal to make it 10-9. Cole then kicked a 34-yard field goal to give Las Vegas a 13-9 lead going into halftime.
Momentum swung Denver’s way in the third quarter when safety Brandon Jones intercepted a Minshew pass. That set up quarterback Bo Nix’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton to take a 16-13 lead.
Lutz added a 45-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to make it 19-13. Carlson matched that with a 53-yard field goal to draw the Raiders within three, 19-16. Later in the fourth, Nix threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Sutton to extend the lead to 26-16. Carlson then kicked a 22-yarder to make it 26-19.
Minshew suffered a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter, then the Broncos got the ball back after Desmond Ridder was sacked and fumbled the ball, essentially sealing the game. Lutz added a 33-yard field goal after that turnover to secure a 29-19 lead, which held as the final score.
Denver cornerback Riley Moss suffered a knee injury late in the second quarter and was ruled out in the second half. Nix also seemed to be bothered by some kind of issue in the second half and his waist area was wrapped on the sideline.
Up next for the Broncos is a Monday Night Football home game against the Cleveland Browns in Week 13.
