The Raiders started hot against Denver (3-2) on Sunday but allowed the Broncos to score 34 straight points on their way to a 34-18 beatdown of Las Vegas.
Momentum shifted on a 100-yard pick-6 interception by Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II. Tight end Brock Bowers appeared open for a touchdown on the play but Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew missed the mark and tanked Las Vegas’ chances for a win.
Reserve QB Aidan O’Connell eventually replaced Minshew, but the offense still struggled. In fact, O’Connell was picked off by Surtain as well.
As for the Raiders defense, it was plagued by missed tackles all afternoon. It all contributed to an ugly performance for coach Antonio Pierce after a week of drama surrounding wide receiver Davante Adams.
Here are the Raiders winners and losers for the week after Las Vegas fell to 2-3.
Winner: TE Brock Bowers
Bowers scored his first career touchdown to give the Raiders an early 7-0 lead. Minshew dropped back on a play-action pass and hurled his throw in Bowers’ direction. Bowers displayed his supreme skill on the play, reaching high for the catch and racing by a defender before hitting paydirt.
Brocktoberrrr 😤#LVvsDEN | 📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/7XRLrMldbf
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 6, 2024
Bowers had eight catches on 12 targets for 97 yards and one score. It’s clear that the Raiders got a special player when they selected Bowers in the first round this year. What’s not clear is whether Las Vegas can leverage his talent to win more games in 2024.
Winner: DE Maxx Crosby
Fresh off missing the first game in his career, defensive end Maxx Crosby was in his comfort zone on Sunday terrorizing the Broncos. He had two QB sacks and both came in big moments. First, he sacked Denver quarterback Bo Nix to push Denver out of field goal range (the Broncos ended up with a field goal anyway to make the score 10-3).
Spot 'em. Got 'em. 🦅#LVvsDEN | 📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/j4eBkWCPmA
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 6, 2024
Crosby’s second sack forced the Broncos to punt on their first possession of the second half, as they tried to score again after notching a field goal to end the first half. He ended up with three total tackles, two tackles for loss, and two QB hits to go with his QB sacks.
Winner: Raiders running game
The Raiders had 115 yards rushing, their second straight game with more than 100 yards on the ground. It didn’t help much on this Sunday, but it should be noted due to the Raiders’ awful rushing attack to start the season.
However, on a bad note: new starting RB Alexander Mattison had just 38 yards on 15 carries, good for a 2.5 yards per rush average. The Raiders leading rusher, Ameer Abdullah, gained all but two of his rushing yards on one play.
Loser: QB Gardner Minshew
Minshew started this game by completing his first nine pass attempts, leading the Raiders to 138 yards of offense on their first two drives and a 10-0 lead.
After a 40-yard run by Abdullah put the Raiders in business on their third drive of the game, Bowers caught a pass from Minshew to set up a goal-to-go situation. On 1st-and-goal, a lazy pass from Minshew missed Bowers badly and went right to Surtain, who finished the job for a touchdown. Suddenly, it was 10-10 after the Raiders were primed to take a 17-3 advantage.
A 100 YARD PICK 6!! @PatSurtainll pic.twitter.com/Xh3CG05U9J
— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024
Minshew threw another interception when the Raiders were trailing 20-10. One play before the pick, Minshew looked lost in the pocket before getting sacked. On the Raiders’ next drive, O’Connell entered for Minshew as the Raiders still trailed 20-10, but O’Connell led another three-and-out drive for Vegas. The Broncos scored on the ensuing possession for a commanding 27-10 lead.
Loser: DE Janarius Robinson
The Raiders committed 11 penalties for 79 yards in this game, a departure from their disciplined nature under coach Pierce. Perhaps no penalty hurt Las Vegas more than a flag on DE Janarius Robinson at the end of the first half.
The Broncos missed a 59-yard field goal as time expired, but Robinson jumped over the line of scrimmage, drawing the penalty. The Broncos moved up 15 yards and converted their next try for a 13-10 lead at the break.
Loser: HC Antonio Pierce
Surtain’s pick-6 changed momentum dramatically, but a curious decision by Pierce and his offense may have contributed to the Raiders’ sudden disbelief in their ability to win this ballgame.
After the Raiders defense forced a Broncos punt with the game knotted at 10-10, Las Vegas had phenomenal field position, starting their drive at midfield. On 3rd-and-5, the Raiders handed off to Mattison, setting up a 4th-and-2. Pierce opted to punt.
The run on third down makes the most sense if Pierce had already decided his team was in four-down territory. So the punt, and the entire sequence, was a head-scratcher.
The Raiders defense forced a punt on the ensuing possession, but if Pierce had shown a little more confidence and went for it — or had his offense dial up a better play on third down — the Raiders could have used their great field position to turn the game in their favor again. Instead, it was just more failure for the offense and more bad vibes as the game slipped away.
Loser: Aidan O’Connell
The Raiders made their QB switch late in the game, but O’Connell had a real opportunity to change momentum. The offense went three-and-out on his first drive — though the effort was ruined by a hold on offensive tackle DJ Glaze. O’Connell threw his interception on an off-target pass to Bowers on his next drive.
Loser: Defense
The Raiders are not far removed from Pierce’s “business decisions” comment after Las Vegas’ loss to the Panthers. On Sunday in Denver, Pierce’s defense missed a lot of tackles. And they were smacked a handful of times by the Broncos offense when they stuck their nose in there and tried to make a tough tackle. Overall, it was just a bad look, even though Denver had a pedestrian 289 yards of offense (109 rushing).
The Raiders picked a bad time to lose their eight-game winning streak against the Broncos. Las Vegas entered the game with a 2-2 record — and also with a disgruntled star receiver who wants off the team in Davante Adams. This win would have gone a long way toward turning the page on the Adams fiasco.
Instead, the Raiders are left to wonder what went wrong, and perhaps see more clearly why Adams wants nothing to do with this team any longer.
But as we all know, the NFL is a week-to-week business, and the Raiders still have time to become a contender. Their next chance is a Week 6 matchup with the Steelers at Allegiant Stadium.
