The Denver Broncos edged out the Las Vegas Raiders, winning 10-7.
The Broncos’ defence bailed them out in a tight victory over the reeling Raiders, sacking Geno Smith six times to atone for spotty performances on offence and special teams.
The Broncos (8-2) own the league’s best record, but they didn’t look anything like it on a windy night in the Rocky Mountains.
They barely outplayed the Raiders (2-7), who just traded away top receiver Jakobi Meyers, in winning for the seventh straight time overall and extending their NFL-best home winning streak to 10.
Denver Broncos wide receiver Troy Franklin catches a touchdown pass . (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
Wil Lutz’s 32-yard field goal with five seconds left in the third quarter broke a 7-7 tie and followed J.L. Skinner’s block of AJ Cole’s punt, setting up Denver’s struggling offence at the Las Vegas 12.
The Broncos lost two yards on three plays and Lutz, who was way short on a 59-yarder earlier in the third quarter, nailed it through the wind to give Denver its first lead.
Cornerback Kyu Blue Kelly’s interception set up the Raiders at the Denver 45-yard line in the waning minutes, but Daniel Carlson was wide right on a 48-yard field-goal try with 4:26 remaining that would have tied it.
The Broncos chewed up the rest of the clock with a methodical drive at last and ended up taking kneel-downs in victory formation inside the Raiders 20-yard line after Las Vegas ran out of timeouts.
Neither team had been able to get into an offensive rhythm and a steady stream of players – including Smith – retreated to the sidelines to have injuries checked out.
The Broncos’ trend of slow starts continued as they managed just six yards in six first-quarter snaps and trailed 7-0 after allowing Ashton Jeanty’s four-yard touchdown run.
The Broncos finally got a first down on their fifth possession when J.K. Dobbins scampered for a 13-yard gain on first down. Four plays later, Bo Nix found Troy Franklin for an 11-yard touchdown to tie the game.
Denver Broncos kicker Wil Lutz makes a 32-yard field goal during the second half. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Denver had 116 yards in the first half, two more than Las Vegas. Denver’s defence tallied five first-half sacks. The Broncos have 46 so far this season. That’s the most through 10 games by any team since at least 1990.
The Broncos again made several miscues on special teams, and rookie Jeremy Crawshaw shanked three first-half punts, which travelled 30, 36 and 38 yards. Skinner made up for that by blocking Cole’s punt with his facemask.
“We’ve got to do better,” quarterback Bo Nix said after throwing for just 150 yards with two interceptions to go with a touchdown pass.
“At some point 10 points ain’t going to be enough. We’ve got to score more.
“We’ve got to find some juice somewhere.”
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