Broncos vs. Raiders live scores, updates, and highlights from ‘Sunday Night Football’
First place in the AFC West belongs to the Raiders now.
Final score: Raiders 30, Broncos 20
Third quarter: Raiders 20, Broncos 10
Halftime: Raiders 20, Broncos 10
First quarter: Raiders 6, Broncos 0
Highlights
Marquette King celebrated a great punt by riding an imaginary pony. King remains our favorite punter.
Broncos running back Kapri Bibbs zigged and zagged for a 69-yard touchdown.
Trevor Siemian threw a TD bomb to Jordan Norwood.
The Broncos surrendered 20 points in the first half of a game for the first time since 2014, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
NFL research noted that the Raiders’ 124 rushing yards before halftime was their most in a first half since 2013.
Injuries
Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe was carted to the locker room with an elbow injury. He was ruled out for the rest of the game.
Before the game
The West is the AFC’s hottest division. The No. 1 spot is up for grabs in Week 9 when the Denver Broncos head west to meet the Oakland Raiders on Sunday Night Football.
Derek Carr and a high-flying Oakland offense can stake its claim as the division’s top team, but it’ll have to get back the NFL’s toughest passing defense to get there. Denver has limited opponents to just 184 aerial yards per game and battered opposing passers to the tune of 26 sacks in eight games. Von Miller and his squad have used that ferocious pass rush to limit quarterbacks to just a 65.7 passer rating.
In other words, the Broncos have turned passers like Cam Newton, Andy Dalton, Andrew Luck, and Philip Rivers into a composite player approximately as good behind center as Terrelle Pryor has been in 2016. It is, of course, worth noting Pryor is now a full-time wide receiver.
It hasn’t been all sunshine for 6-2 Denver, however. The Broncos have been continued to struggle with their own offensive woes. Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch have been inefficient at quarterback, captaining the league’s 27th-rated passing attack. A knee injury to C.J. Anderson has lopped off a chunk of the team’s tailback depth, as well. In his place, rookie Devontae Booker has filled the role of featured back.
The former fifth-round pick has been solid, but unspectacular, in his two games as the centerpiece of the Broncos’ running game.
They’ll have the opportunity to make a statement against a Raider team that’s been all offense in 2016. Carr has pushed Oakland to a 6-2 start behind MVP-caliber play. He’s teamed up with Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree to give his team one of the league’s most dynamic passing attacks.
However, only one defense in the NFL gives up more yards per game than the Raiders, and that’s the hapless 0-8 Cleveland Browns. Oakland’s ability to limit red zone touchdowns has been a boon this fall, but its bend-don’t-break defense dangles over its head like the sword of Damocles.
Pregame reading
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