LEAPING TOWARD A VICTORY
Broncos follow through on request to honor old coach Defense dominates Raiders as Denver rolls into bye week 3-1
Broncos safety Justin Simmons makes a game-clinching interception on a pass intended for Amari Cooper of the Oakland Raiders late in the fourth quarter during Denver’s 16-10 win Sunday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. »
The Broncos’ defense held late and their run game led the way as Denver eked out a 16-10 victory to claim sole possession of second place in the AFC West. Safety Justin Simmons’ interception with less than two minutes left sealed the victory.
“The first quarter (of the season) is over and we’re 3-1 and headed to a bye, so that was huge for us today,” coach Vance Joseph said. “What I like about our football team right now is our run defense has been excellent.
“Running the football, with our offen- sive line and the backs, has been excellent. My issue with our football team right now is we make a lot of critical errors. That’s got to stop. Offensively, we were 0-for-4 in the red zone, one false start and a holding penalty, and defensively, we gave up two big plays in the passing game. … We’ve got to fix those things moving forward.”
Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian completed 16-of-26 passes for 179 yards, one touchdown and a 94.9 passer rating. But he was also sacked four times as pass
Nan Miller had a message for the Broncos as they readied to face their divisional nemesis Sunday afternoon. Her late husband lived to beat that pesky team from Oakland, and he never cared if it took a f ight or a brawl or every ounce of his players’ energy. So long as they got it done.
The Broncos honored their former coach Red Miller, who passed away last week, with a video tribute during the game, but Nan hoped the Broncos would go beyond: Beat those Raiders for Red.
Message received. But pretty, it wasn’t.
protection broke down under the pressure of Khalil Mack and Mario Edwards.
So, the Broncos relied on their running backs, who broke loose for 142 yards on 28 attempts, and their defense, which held Oakland to 24 yards rushing on 15 carries. Marshawn Lynch had nine of those carries for a mere 12 yards. Through four games, the Broncos have held opponents to 203 yards, the fewest in team history in the first four weeks of the season, and have contained opposing starting running backs to an average of 1.9 yards per carry.
“Our run defense has been stout the entire year,” Joseph said. “I’ve been very proud of how those guys have played the run.”
After a quick three-and-out and the first sack of Siemian, the Broncos put together an 88-yard scoring drive capped with a pair of completions to tight end A.J. Derby for a total 51 yards — a 29yard catch that set up a 22-yard touchdown. Derby caught the tip of the football on the scoring pass with a few fingertips and waltzed into the end zone with only one hand grasping the ball.
“It was just a great throw by Trevor and a great job by the Oline giving him time,” Derby said. “I just saw the ball and made a play. It felt like three fingers, but I haven’t seen it so I have no idea.”
The touchdown was the first of his career, and it opened the gates as Jamaal Charles found holes to run and the Raiders were penalized 30 yards for defensive pass interference, setting up a 28-yard field goal by Brandon McManus later in the first quarter for a 10-0 lead. Charles, appearing much like the explosive back he was before multiple knee surgeries, finished with five carries for 33 yards. C.J. Anderson added 95 and Devontae Booker, making his 2017 debut, contributed 14 more.
“We’re all going to have our time and have our moments to make plays,” Anderson said. “We all have different roles and we use our roles and our abilities within the game in the different roles. Maybe if the game is going another way, then maybe it’s a Jamaal Charles day or a Booker day, things to that nature. We all ran the ball well and that’s how we want to keep it. Hopefully, we can keep catching the ball out of the backfield and just trying to be the spark to this football team.”
But the early momentum didn’t last.
One play in the second quarter kept the Broncos’ lead in check as the Raiders took advantage of Denver’s five-defensive back look. Von Miller was not on the field and Derek Carr found Johnny Holton for a 64-yard, overthe-shoulder touchdown grab.
The Broncos’ offense that racked up 140 yards in the first quarter notched only 65 in the second — and was forced to punt three times.
Denver returned from the halftime break in much the same fashion, with a rededication to pounding the ball on the ground in one quarter, then watching its momentum fade in the next. On the Broncos’ first possession of the third quarter, Anderson broke out for 53 yards on three carries — including one for 40 yards — to set up a 37-yard field goal by McManus and a 13-7 lead. Then, in three successive plays, all three phases pitched in as defensive end Derek Wolfe sacked Carr on third down, Isaiah McKenzie picked up 29 yards on a punt return and Anderson barreled up the middle for 12-yard gain, setting up another McManus field goal for a 16-7 lead.
Late in the third quarter, Carr was sacked by Shelby Harris and knocked out of the game with what coach Jack Del Rio later said were back spasms. A failed fake punt by and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Oakland’s punter, Marquette King, gave the Broncos a prime opportunity to blow open the game. But McManus hit the upright on a 29-yard field-goal attempt and the Raiders stormed back behind backup quarterback EJ Manuel.
The Broncos had many chances to close it out, but couldn’t capitalize.
“I just felt like we were always one play away from really getting momentum,” Siemian said. “We just didn’t really have a rhythm and they did a good job of mixing up coverages, defenses and safety pressures. They kept us on our toes, but we’ve got to find a way to stay in rhythm, stay on the field and get it to our guys.”
With little success on the ground, Manuel aired it and completed passes of 28 and 22
“Our run defense has been stout the entire year. I’ve been really proud of how those guys have played the run.” Vance Joseph, Broncos coach
yards during a 73-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter to pull the Raiders within 16-10.
After Denver went three-andout, the Raiders got the ball back with a chance to win on their 42yard line with 4 minutes, 16 seconds left. They advanced as far as Denver’s 36, but Simmons’ interception ended the suspense.
“It felt great,” Simmons said. “It was a great opportunity to make a play.”
Nan Miller’s message? Heard loud and clear.
“It was really important for us to win today at home,” Siemian said. “So I’m beyond excited that we finished 3-1 in that first quarter of the season.”