It certainly wasn’t pretty, but the Broncos are 8-2 and still atop the AFC West after a 10-7 win over the Raiders. It’s Denver’s seventh straight win, its longest winning streak in a season since 2015, the same season it won the Super Bowl.
Troy Franklin scored the lone touchdown for Denver (8-2), and Wil Lutz kicked what turned out to be the game-winning field goal in the third quarter after JL Skinner blocked a punt to put the offense in scoring position.
Las Vegas opened the scoring on its second offensive drive, with Ashton Jeanty plunging in from 4 yards away.
Denver, on the other hand, had zero first downs on its first four drives but broke through on its fifth drive. JK Dobbins ripped off a first-down run, Bo Nix found rookie Pat Bryant for a big gain, and two plays later, Nix found Franklin, his former college teammate, for a touchdown.
The Raiders wasted several opportunities throughout the half. On the opening drive, Smith took a sack to push them out of field goal range. On their fourth drive, the Raiders got down to the Denver 31-yard line, but an offensive pass interference led to another punt. On Las Vegas’ fifth drive, Smith took a sack on fourth-and-5, setting up a short field that Denver eventually turned into a touchdown. Overall, Smith was sacked five times in the first half and six times for the game.
Nix made a head-scratching deep throw late in the half that Kyu Blu Kelly intercepted, but again, Las Vegas couldn’t take advantage, as Dont’e Thornton dropped a deep Smith pass.
The second half was similarly ugly. The Las Vegas offensive line had no chance against Denver’s pass rush, but Denver’s offense couldn’t do much. Dondrea Tillman picked off a Smith pass that went through Jeanty’s hands and popped up in the air. Despite starting at the Las Vegas 32-yard line, Denver didn’t score, eventually punting after a penalty derailed any thoughts of capitalizing on the turnover.
The Broncos then forced a quick three-and-out, and Skinner broke through to block AJ Cole’s punt. Again, the Denver offense went nowhere, but at least it was already close enough for Lutz’s 32-yard field goal.
The Raiders did not have a first down or a completed pass in the third quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, Smith appeared to injure his leg, and though he ended up missing just two plays, he was clearly hobbled
That showed up in the worst way: Midway through the fourth quarter, Kelly picked off Nix for the second time when Franklin failed to reel in a pass and Kelly nabbed the deflection.
The Raiders, starting at the Denver 45-yard line, ran the ball on five straight plays. On a third-and-6, Smith had to bail from the pocket immediately and throw the ball away. Daniel Carlson then missed wide right from 48 yards, yet another opportunity gone by the wayside.
Smith was later ruled questionable to return with a left quad injury, but he would never get the chance to re-enter, regardless of his injury status. Denver salted the game away with three first downs.
Broncos defense continues to dominate
Nik Bonitto and Jonathan Cooper get the most headlines because they have the most sacks — Bonitto’s 9.5 are third-most in the NFL this season, and Cooper is tied for fifth with 7.5 — but this is truly a team effort.
Talanoa Hufanga came up with a fourth-down sack in the first half that set up Denver’s lone touchdown drive. The always-underrated Zach Allen had a sack, three quarterback hits and a pass defensed. And remember, this effort came from a team playing without reigning Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II.
The Broncos are up to an NFL-high 46 sacks this season. That’s 18 more than the next closest team, the Lions. For reference, the gap between the Lions and the team with the fewest sacks in the NFL — the Jaguars — is also 18. The 46 sacks are also the most by any team through 10 games since the 1989 Vikings.
“I think it’s just the selflessness we all play with,” Bonitto said postgame. “We’re not afraid to rush with each other. We practice all week doing it, we meet all week, and I feel like the love and the way we’re able to do it all week in practice, it just shows off in the game. We’re not surprised by the results.”
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph deserves praise, too. In his first year as the Broncos’ defensive coordinator, 2023, the Dolphins infamously scored 70 points in Week 3. But the unit steadily improved that year, took a massive step in 2024 and is now a dominant unit in 2025.
“He’s a mastermind when it comes to dialing stuff up,” Bonitto said.
Broncos offense has a lot to figure out
Denver is averaging 13.9 points per game during the first three quarters of games this year — 21st in the NFL — but 9.4 points in the fourth quarter, third in the NFL.
But Thursday, it never got going. Nix tossed up another ill-advised deep interception and generally looked uncertain, even in clean pockets. The running game managed just 84 yards with the longest carry being just 13 yards. Nix’s 54.2 passer rating was the second-worst of his career. He has struggled passing downfield, and the running game has just been so-so.
Denver can get away with this against some of the league’s worst, as it did Thursday, and middle class. But the schedule ticks up in difficulty. The Broncos face the Chiefs in a crucial Week 10 game and also face the Packers, Chiefs (again) and also host the second-place Chargers to close the regular season.
“They keep winning games for us, and they keep giving us the ball back, and at some point, we gotta return the favor,” Nix said of his defense.
As for the offense?
“Something’s gotta change.”
Raiders’ nightmare continues
The Raiders (2-7) had many opportunities in this game, and they wasted nearly all of them.
Smith worked almost exclusively underneath, and Brock Bowers, four days week after a 12-catch, 127-yard, three-touchdown performance, had just one catch for 31 yards on three targets.
Of course, it’s hard to fault Smith alone. The Raiders were down three offensive linemen: Left tackle Kolton Miller is on IR, and left guard Dylan Parham and right guard Jackson Powers-Johnson exited the game. The running game is abysmal, and again, it’s hard to play the main player in that aspect — Jeanty — considering the blocking in front of him.
Things have gone sideways in Pete Carroll’s first season in Las Vegas.
