The Las Vegas Raiders fell to 2-7 in Week 10 of the 2025 NFL season, suffering a 10-7 loss to the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football. In a season full of frustrating games, their matchup with their divisional rivals may have been the worst.
Las Vegas had plenty of opportunities to put points on the board; however, they were unable to do so, outside of Ashton Jeanty's first-quarter rushing touchdown. The game was ugly, all around, as the teams combined for more penalties than first downs for only the second time since 1950.
The Raiders, however, continued to make life difficult for themselves, as they seemingly did more to lose the game than the Broncos did to win it. Las Vegas, not too shockingly, had the momentum of five drives stalled by its skill position players.
Raiders beat themselves in ugly Thursday Night Football loss to divisional foe
After trading Jakobi Meyers to the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier in the week, the Raiders practically signaled that, at least the front office, is looking toward next year. Still, it is frustrating that Las Vegas has made a habit of losing very winnable games, as that was once again the case on Thursday.
The Raiders' first costly mistake came on the opening possession of the game on 2nd-and-12 from the Broncos' 46-yard line. Geno Smith and Tyler Lockett connected for a nine-yard gain; however, the wide receiver seemingly made a business decision to avoid contact and go out of bounds.
Lockett, who has made a name for himself by avoiding hits and staying healthy, likely would have picked up the first down had he not chosen to run out of bounds. Smith was sacked on the ensuing play, and the Raiders were pushed out of field goal range.
After scoring their lone points of the day on their second drive, Las Vegas was back to making mistakes. Jeanty had been running the ball well at this stage of the game, and exploded for what would have been a 32-yard run. However, Jack Bech was called for a hold, negating the run.
The rookie wideout essentially held for no reason, as he was nowhere near the play. Instead of having 1st-and-10 from Denver's 30-yard line, the Raiders were forced into a second-and-12 situation from their own 30-yard line. An incompletion and a sack later, and they were forced to punt the ball.
On the next possession, Las Vegas was once again moving the ball and opted to go for it on 4th-and-2 from the Broncos' 31-yard line. Smith and Tre Tucker connected on a pass that the latter took to the end zone for a touchdown.
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However, it was brought back, as Dont'e Thornton Jr. was called for offensive pass interference. Not only was the touchdown wiped off the board, but the Raiders were pushed out of field goal range yet again and forced to punt.
Near the end of the first half, Las Vegas once again had possession following a Kyu Blu Kelly interception. On 1st-and-10 from their own 36-yard line, Thornton Jr. had Riley Moss beat, and Smith put the ball where it needed to be, but Thornton Jr. dropped the pass.
The Raiders likely would've had an opportunity to go for a touchdown with over 20 seconds remaining in the half. At the very least, they would have had an opportunity to get a chip-shot field goal to regain momentum, even if Daniel Carlson has been a bit unreliable lately.
Finally, Las Vegas began its second possession of the second half on its own 49-yard line after a missed 59-yard field goal attempt by Wil Lutz. On the first play of the drive, Smith hit Jeanty in his hands on a pass that he dropped and fell into the hands of a Broncos defender for an interception.
These five plays were enough to hurt any chance the Raiders had of winning the game; however, they were hardly the team's only mistakes. Denver's 10 points came off a failed fourth-down conversion and a blocked punt, both of which gave them a short field to work with.
Carlson also missed a kick, and there was an inexplicable quarterback sneak call on 3rd-and-2 from the Broncos' 31-yard line. Finally, Brock Bowers, who was coming off the best game of his career, had just three targets and one reception, as the team failed to get him involved.
The Raiders, surprisingly, are just a few plays away from sitting at 5-4 and in postseason contention. However, they continue to find ways to beat themselves. It is clear that the franchise is not ready to win and has a lot of work to do to become a true contender.