The Denver Broncos added to their NFL-record consecutive divisional road victories streak Sunday afternoon, but not before some drama took place at O.co Coliseum in Oakland.
The Broncos needed some bizarre plays to steal their fifth victory of the season and come out of California with a 16-10 win over the Raiders. The offense continued to struggle and the defense, once again, made the game-changing play just when it was most needed.
The game began with both team’s opening drives ending in punts. The third drive of the game lasted 12 plays and ended with a 38-yard Sebastian Janikowski attempt. The low line-drive was blocked by Sylvester Williams and signaled what would be a long-day for the 16-year veteran kicker.
The Broncos took advantage of the missed points and drove down the field, aided by a 45-yard reception by Emmanuel Sanders, but were denied a touchdown. Brandon McManus made his first field goal attempt of 25 yards for the 3-0 lead just seconds into the second quarter.
Derek Carr then led the Raiders on a quick drive filled with big pass plays that ended with a short throw to Marcel Reece for a three-yard touchdown. They seemed to have found some holes in the Broncos defense on the drive but could not duplicate the success in the second half.
Manning then led a 10-play drive down the field with only seconds left in the half. On 3rd-and-9 in the red zone, Manning was pressured and quickly got rid of the ball, throwing in Owen Daniels’ direction. Charles Woodson, safety for the Raiders, caught the errant pass and stopped the Broncos from retaking the lead. The Raiders held the 7-3 lead into halftime but it was the only one they would have for the entire day.
The Broncos added two field goals in the third quarter, one aided by Von Miller stripping the ball from Carr and held the Raiders scoreless. Manning was intercepted for the second time of the day by Woodson but the Raiders could not capitalize on the turnover.
Entering the final quarter of play the Broncos led the game, 9-7. On the first play of the quarter Janikowski missed a 50-yard attempt, wide left. The biggest play of the day would come after another failed Broncos drive and on a possession in which the Raiders appeared to be gaining momentum. Carr dropped back on 3rd-and-5 with 7:05 left in the game. He looked to the middle of the field and thew to Seth Roberts. Chris Harris Jr. read the play perfectly and jumped in front of the throw, intercepted the ball and was off to the races. He returned the pass for a 74-yard touchdown.
After a failed 14-play drive by the Raiders and a quick three-and-out by the Broncos the Raiders made a 50-yard field goal to get the score to 10-19. The miscues on the field goals were the difference in the game and despite the Broncos two interceptions, they still won the turnover battle, causing three.
Who had the best and worst quote of the day? Read on…
