OFFENSE — A-
The Broncos offense got off to a really rough start but found its stride in the second half. At halftime, Denver had 125 yards, seven first downs and was 1 of 6 on third downs.
By the time Bo Nix hit Josh Reynolds for a touchdown and a 34-10 lead midway through the fourth quarter, Denver had 288 yards of offense and had completely taken over the game. Nix threw for a pair of touchdowns and rushed for another. Another positive development: Javonte Williams continued to look good. He finished with 111 total yards (61 rushing, 50 receiving) and now has put together back-to-back outings that look suspiciously like the pre-injury version of the powerful running back.
DEFENSE — A
Leave it to the Broncos’ best player to bail out a unit off to an uncharacteristically slow start. Vance Joseph’s defense was reeling and in danger of going down 17-3 in the second quarter when Pat Surtain II picked off Gardner Minshew on the goal line and went 100 yards the other way for a touchdown. From there, Denver’s defense dominated. Riley Moss got in on the action in the second half with his first career interception and the Raiders went from the 1:30 mark of the first quarter to trailing 34-10 before scoring again late in the fourth quarter.
SPECIAL TEAMS — A-
Five weeks in, the Broncos’ return game finally kicked into high gear. Marvin Mims Jr. racked up 54 punt return yards, including a 38-yarder that set up a touchdown drive. Tremon Smith generated a big kick return, too. Placekicker Wil Lutz missed a 59-yard field goal going into halftime but got bailed out by a Las Vegas penalty. Riley Dixon did not have his best day punting but overall this was another solid outing for a group that’s been good all season.
The Broncos even took advantage of a quirky rule late in the game when Lutz intentionally kicked off out of bounds from midfield. The penalty results in the ball being placed 25 yards from the spot of the kickoff. So the Las Vegas 25-yard line, better than a touchback.
COACHING — A-
It will be interesting to see what comes of Sean Payton and Nix getting into it on the sideline late in the game. Payton’s gone out of his way to protect Nix so far this season but let him have it after Nix showed frustration about Troy Franklin’s dropped touchdown. Most likely a learning lesson. But at least worth watching going forward.
Payton went for a fourth-and-inches from his own 34-yard line in the first quarter that the Broncos converted, though they didn’t do anything with the drive from there.
Bottom line: Denver fell behind early but didn’t fold. Instead, they stomped out the eight-game losing streak to their division rivals with authority.
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