Las Vegas Raiders ride to a season sweep over the Denver Broncos
Josh McDaniels sweeps his old team as the Raiders advance to 3-7, leaping the Broncos for third place in the AFC West.
Winning cures all – the Las Vegas Raiders prove that true as players and coaches celebrate in the locker room after snapping a three-week losing streak.
Just about nothing has gone as planned for the Silver and Black this season. Heading into Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos, Las Vegas played nine contests with only two wins to show for it.
Thankfully, they play the Broncos more than once per season.
The Raiders marched into Denver, where the two clubs would play their second of two games against each other for the year. Pride was the biggest thing at stake as head coach Josh McDaniels prepared for a season sweep against his former team, the 3-6 Broncos.
After a little more than four quarters of football, he was able to do just that.
The contest began with Las Vegas getting the ball first. Carr and company were able to go into Denver territory, but an illegal block from Mack Hollins stalled the drive and forced a punt.
Now on offense, Denver marched downfield and put six points on the board with their first possession. Las Vegas responded, driving into field goal range for Daniel Carlson who hit each of his last 41 field goal attempts; the third-longest consecutive streak in NFL history.
But this time, he missed.
Carlson’s streak ended at 41 in a row – three short of tying the record – and the Broncos took over with good field position. Denver capitalized by putting up a field goal of their own, making it a two-possession game early.
Broncos up 10-0 at Davante Adams O’clock.
The Raiders got into the end zone next, in large part to Adams. The All-Pro wideout had two catches north of 20 yards; one to move the chains on second-and-19 (23 yards), and another to cap off the drive with six (31 yards).
Denver had the ball for the final possession before the half, effortlessly getting to the Raiders’ goal line. Then, the stadium went silent. Melvin Gordon had his number called on a carry, but Maxx Crosby punched the ball out to force a fumble.
A sigh of relief fell over the crowd as Denver recovered the football. Chip-shot field goal, then halftime. Easy.
But Madd Maxx had other ideas.
Crosby blocked the kick, and the score stayed right where it was – 10-7, Denver. This blocked field goal meant Crosby was responsible for all three of the Raiders’ last three field goal blocks, all coincidentally coming against the Broncos.
Never bring a horse to a condor fight.
Derek Carr, Raiders seal the deal in overtime
Thirteen total drives went by in the second half, as opposed to the five in the first. Between all 13, Denver added six points to their score off two field goals, while Daniel Carlson knocked in three field goals for Las Vegas including a game-tying 25-yarder with 16 seconds left on the clock.
Time for OT.
A.J. Cole chose which side he wanted for the coin toss, and the All-Pro punter chose correctly. Thanks to A.J.’s intuition, the Raiders got the ball to start the overtime period.
Overtime consisted of three plays. The first was a -1 yard rush by Josh Jacobs to set up a long second down. The second was a pass to Foster Moreau that went for 33 yards. The third and final play was a downfield shot to Davante Adams that resulted in a 35-yard walk-off touchdown.
Adams couldn’t have been more open on the touchdown, either. Adams and Hollins crossed paths upfield, with Hollins going in and Adams going out. At the end of it, the defense chose to follow Hollins instead of the All-Pro wideout.
With another win in OT, Derek Carr’s career record in such contests moved to 8-1. Carr’s only loss in overtime throughout his career was the Week 2 showdown this season against the Arizona Cardinals, where Hunter Renfrow fumbled on back-to-back receptions.
Just another stat that proves exactly how clutch the 31-year-old signal-caller has been.
On the other side of the ball, Maxx Crosby became the third player since 2000 to record 2+ sacks, a forced fumble, and a field goal block in one game. The Raiders couldn’t have gotten it done without The Condor.
What was once sadness is now joy, as the high-spirited 3-7 Raiders prep for next week’s contest against Seattle.