Instant reactions to Raiders' blowout loss vs. Broncos

Losing the turnover battle is a losing formula

The Raiders offense will never be successful if they continue to give the ball away at the rate that they do, and the defense will continue to suffer as a result of it.

The defense is not absolved of blame either, as this highly-touted unit has only forced two turnovers this season through five games.

No NFL team can consistently win games with such a horrid turnover margin.

It starts with Gardner Minshew's inaccurate throws that neglect big plays, and it ends with boneheaded plays that really, really cost the team.

Being up 10-3 with a chance to push it to at least a 10-point lead is usually a position that teams thrive in. But Minshew instead overthrew Brock Bowers near the goal line by so much that Bowers pulled his hands as if the pass was not even intended for him. The result was a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown.

That play changed everything. Minshew and the team were rattled, and never recovered.

In the second half, Minshew tried the other extreme by abhorrently underthrowing his intended receiver, allowing Riley Moss to get his first career interception.

Aidan O'Connell followed suit by throwing an interception of his own after replacing Minshew, forcing the ball into tight coverage.

By contrast, the Raiders defense has two interceptions on the year, and one of them was on a freak play in which Amari Cooper dropped a wide-open pass.

No Raider has even forced a fumble this year, let alone recovered one.

Good NFL teams do not operate this way.