Thursday Night Football was unbearably painful to watch all four quarters of atrocious football offensively between the Raiders and Broncos. Ending the game 10-7, both teams’ offense just couldn’t get anything going. Mile High Stadium is usually deafening when the Broncos division rivalry Las Vegas Raiders arrive to dog fight in Denver. But the stadium was so quiet throughout the entire game, and during certain painful moments for Broncos fans, that you could hear a pin drop, especially when the Raiders hit the end zone first.
The Broncos special team’s unit, mainly the punter, looked like he had never punted a ball in his life when Denver needed him to deliver and bail them out of their own zone several times. On the other hand, the Raiders punter’s performance was the exact opposite, putting on a clinic and pinning Denver down inside of the 5-yard line a few times increasing pressure on the Broncos offensive line to avoid a safety.
Bo Nix had a few words regarding the fans continuous “boo’s” throughout the night:
“I’ve been booed before, and I’ll be booed again. Not going to be the last time. It’s obviously unfortunate. You don’t want your own fans booing you.”
– Bo Nix (Denver Broncos Quarterback)
The boos were noticeably loud after each punt, numerous three and outs, and Sean Payton’s questionable play calling, the list goes on. Bo Nix had an exigent battle behind the offensive line all night, going 16/28 on passing attempts to only end up with 150 total passing yards, including 2 interceptions. Denver couldn’t get anything going in the air all game, forcing JK Dobbins to answer on the ground, rushing the ball 18 times for 77 yards. Not a great way to win a game. The end of the game statistics was dreadful, neck and neck for both teams, and the score reflected that without question.
– 13 Three & Outs
– 1 Blocked Punt
– 15 Punts
– 8 Sacks
– 2 Missed FG’s
On the bright side or shall I say the defensive side played out of their minds, only allowing Geno Smith to go 16/26 with only 143 total yards in the air, and keeping Ashton Jeanty at 60 yards on 19 carries on the ground.
Denver’s defense distinctly showed why they are undeniably the best unit in the NFL. The Broncos had six sacks on the night, 5 of those sacks came within the first half alone and brought their season total to 46 sacks. They now have 18 more sacks than any other NFL team so far, making a statement each game.
The “Orange Crush” defense is also on pace to break the NFL record that still stands at 72 sacks which was set by the Chicago Bears back in 1984. The 84 Bears still stand as one of the best, if not the best defensive units in NFL history, and the Denver Broncos are on their heels.
Denver’s monstrous defense has been carrying the team day in and day out and show no signs of letting up any time soon, even with Patrick Surtain II on the injured list.
Bad games happen, but when a legit contender that sits (8-2) barely defeats a (2-8) team only scoring 1 time in the last 17 drives, there are tough conversations that need to be had to patch up the weaknesses and flaws on a very young, but streaky offense that was exposed by a “Bottom of the Barrell” rivalry team.
Mainly speaking of the offense, specifically the head coach and the offensive coordinator that put-on display very questionable play calling decisions. Both of whom should consider buying a steak dinner for every defensive player that stepped out on that field and executed their job properly.
Dante Robinson | Senior NFL Analyst for The NSR Network
