Welcome in to the full recap for the Raiders' first divisional matchup of the 2015 season vs. the Denver Broncos where the Raiders kept it tight for most of the game, but the effort fell just short as the Raiders fell to the Broncos 16-10.
I just want to punch a wall right now, knowing that the Raiders have now loss 8 straight against a divisional rival that I truly despise. Like I said in the reaction for the 4th quarter, if you think last week's loss against the Chicago Bears hurts, this game will hurt even more for weeks to come. They had a chance. Peyton Manning and the Broncos' offense weren't playing their best against the Raiders' defense unlike years past, but there's a reason why their defense is #1 and they once again won the game this season. But, just too many mistakes, especially on offense and special teams-wise.
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Charles Woodson, 4 tackles, 2 INT. There was nobody in this game who wanted this game more other than Charles Woodson. I'm surprised by the stat that Woodson didn't have a single pick against Peyton Manning for 18 years until now. I was mindblown by that. But other than that, it's just a blessing to witness C-Wood still play at a high level, even if he just turned one year before 40. Not to mention, he's out there with that bad shoulder and still giving his 100% to the team. He's just unbelievable. Like I said, I didn't know he didn't have a single pick against Manning throughout his 18 years in the league. He had one today, but why not two? That 2nd pick he had in the 2nd half, that is not a guy who should be playing like he's 39 years old. C-Wood is the man, enough said.
Defense. I'll give Ken Norton, Jr. 100% credit for listening to us that the Raiders' defense needs to install more 3-4 looks and they needed to blitz more. And that's what Ken Norton implemented in this game. I'm looking closely at Owen Daniels' stats. Manning targeted him 5 times and Daniels didn't receive none of them. I think the defense has finally solved its issue at covering Tight Ends. That was one of the few reasons why this game was close. The Raiders stopped the run, the Broncos' receivers will have their way because the secondary is awful, but they solved the Tight End issue and that made Manning and the Broncos' offense one-dimensional. Kudos to Ken Norton, Jr. and I'm Jack Del Rio had some input to mix up the defense because for the first time this season, they managed to play well and keep the opposing the Tight Ends in check.
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Conservative offensive play calling. Can't say Vikings fans warned us about Bill Musgrave and his conservative play calling. The Raiders' offense was doing a good job for the most part in the first half, eating up all the time of possession and not giving Peyton Manning and the offense a chance to get on the field. And then the 2nd half happened. What the hell happened to the offensive game plan? After a freak fumble recovery from Von Miller to pull the Broncos within one, the offense just completely shut down. Of course, credit to the Broncos' #1 defense for stepping it up, but the offense was mundane in the 2nd half and they just kept playing conservative. Secondly, where was Latavius Murray throughout the 2nd half? I didn't think he got a carry during the 2nd half. This Raiders offense has a lot weapons and they're not going to realize their potential if there is a conservative approach to the offensive game plan. That definitely falls on Musgrave.
Sebastian Janikowski, 2 missed field goals. Those missed field goals definitely came back to bite the Raiders. There's just no words to describe the mishaps that Sebass made because you're used to seeing him nail those field goals that are pretty much chip shots to him. Well his first field goal, the Broncos' special teams had a finger on it, but the 2nd field goal was just an awful miss. If he made those, we would've been talking a tie game and those misses hurt.
Conclusion
Overall, the Raiders let an opportunity slip away with a lot of costly mistakes and a lot of missed opportunity. But one thing is for certain is that they managed to keep this game competitive down to the wire. The last seven games against Denver were just depressing to watch as the Broncos would have a pretty comfortable lead, but this game, they had to earn it. But as the saying goes, "you are what your record shows" and the fact of the matter is the Raiders are 2-3 and are now 0-8 against the Broncos in the Peyton Manning era. Yeah, I can't stand that statistic too because I can't stand the Broncos. The Raiders have a bye next week and they go on the road the week after for another divisional game vs. the San Diego Chargers. I said in my preview some months ago that I see the Chargers as the only team that the Raiders can sweep in the division. Last season, the Raiders have played them close, but both teams are different and it's a whole new season, so anything goes. I'll see you guys in two weeks for the Chargers game.
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