Welcome to the 1st half open thread and discussion of Week 9's primetime main event of the Raiders' critical divisional matchup vs. the Denver Broncos on Sunday Night Football on NBC! Leave a comment on your thoughts on the 1st half below this post.
Q2
DEN 10 OAK 20
That was quite a scare at the final seconds. If Emmanuel Sanders made that catch, it would've been a whole different narrative. But, so far no jitters for this young Raiders team in their first nationally televised prime time game. Yes, there's a lot of points the offense left out there out on the field, but so far they've managed to keep this Denver defense on their heels for the majority of the game. The key here was the running game. Jalen Richard broke out big chunks of yardages to get within Denver territory. Latavius Murray broke out a huge chunk before the 2nd quarter came to an end and he managed to get two 1-yard TD runs. The defense kept Trevor Siemian and Broncos' offense in check. They were getting a lot of quick 3 and outs. But, they did allow a touchdown. I don't know how Siemian was able to get that pass to Demaryius Thomas when Reggie Nelson was in his grill and that set up the Broncos' only touchdown of the game by Jordan Norwood. Other than that, stats sheets go in favor of the Raiders this first half. Offense is displaying some good balance in both the run and the pass. Not a lot of negative this half, but of course, the penalties came back up again during the 2nd quarter. Another negative, I don't know if it's me, but what is going on with Janikowski? Raiders could've been up 10-23, but Sebass missed a 48-yard field goal. Last game, he missed both game-winning field goals with the wind in his face, but here, he missed without any wind. He has to get it together. The Raiders should approach the 2nd half with the same formula: use the O-line to play smash mouth football on the run and continue to lock up when the Broncos take the field on offense. The 2nd half open thread will open up shortly.
Q1
DEN 0 OAK 6
Wow, just looking at the score alone, the narrative is that the game is going to be a defensive battle. But, so far, the Raiders have dominated this quarter in terms of field position and being in good position to put points on the board. They could've had a TD, but Seth Roberts slipped on the first drive for the Raiders' offense. Special teams and defense are being difference makers. Trevor Siemian and the Broncos' offense could not get anything going. Raiders offense is currently driving. Let's see if they cap it off with a TD.
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