Why the Raiders Week 11 win over the Broncos was so important

On Sunday, the Las Vegas Raiders finally picked up a clutch victory, and here is why that win against the Broncos was so important.

The Las Vegas Raiders have won only three games this season, and two of them have come against the Denver Broncos. In their last time out, Las Vegas finally put together a strong effort for four quarters, but in the end, it took an extra frame for them to come away with the victory.

Here we look at the importance of that win against Denver.

Why the Raiders Week 11 win over the Broncos was so important

A Step in the Right Direction for the Defense

Sunday’s win was huge for the Las Vegas Raiders. Sure, the team continued to have struggles against a very poor Denver Broncos team. And yes, this recent win only improved the team’s record to a very disappointing 3-7.

But what made this win so important is that it gave the players the confidence to know that they can win, and strengthened their belief that they can trust one another when the game is on the line.

The first bit of evidence for this showed up when the defense took the field. While this unit is still far from perfect, this is the first week where they showed improvements. The pass rush was finally getting some pressure on the quarterback, the secondary was playing physically, and the run was generally stopped pretty well.

And unlike last week, players weren’t giving up when something didn’t go their way.

Also, when a player made a play on defense, the group was getting excited, and they looked like they were having fun.  That might be the biggest area where the defense can improve because clearly, they don’t have the talent to be an elite defense right now.

But as we saw last year, when a defensive unit can gel and trust one another, it can make a bad defense look like a decent one, and building on that cohesiveness will only make the defense that much better next season.