Jeff Legwold
DENVER — The Broncos grew to become the primary workforce within the league to succeed in eight wins this season with Thursday evening's 10-7 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders at Empower Area at Mile Excessive. And so they did it — once more — with their protection at its quarterback-harassing, lockdown greatest.
However after the win, Broncos operating again J.Ok. Dobbins spoke for a lot of of his teammates on offense who consider it is time for the offense to cease making it exhausting for the workforce.
“Yeah, cool, we're 8-2 … [but] the protection is successful us the video games, and we're not serving to them. We're not doing them any justice,” Dobbins stated. “I really feel unhealthy the way in which we play on offense and the way in which they play on protection as a result of they're doing so nice and we're doing so unhealthy. They're our brothers, too, and it simply sucks as a result of they're simply on the market so many performs, taking part in their butts off. We will not preserve doing this to them.”
Mentioned Broncos quarterback Bo Nix: “In some unspecified time in the future, we have to start out transferring the ball and scoring some factors. Between penalties and sluggish soccer, we're simply not taking part in superb. It begins with me. I've received to be higher. … We have got to seek out some juice.”
However, the Broncos lead the AFC West, and their present seven-game successful streak is the workforce's longest because it opened the 2015 season 7-0 — Denver received Tremendous Bowl 50 to shut out that 12 months. The Broncos' protection allowed one landing or fewer for the fourth time this season and likewise had six sacks, pushing its league-leading complete to 46, probably the most after 10 video games since 1990.
The Raiders have been held with no first down on seven consecutive possessions and completed with 188 complete yards.
Nevertheless, the Broncos have been nonetheless in a slugfest as a result of their offense completed with 220 yards and punted seven instances as Nix threw two interceptions. The Broncos have trailed in all however one recreation this season — the Week 5 win over Philadelphia — and have scored 18 or fewer factors in three of their previous 5 video games.
Thursday evening was additionally the fourth recreation this 12 months that the Broncos didn't rating within the first quarter. They'd 4 possessions within the recreation that went for damaging yardage, with three of these coming within the third quarter. It received so ugly within the second half that followers within the sellout booed because the offense left the sector earlier than a punt.
“I imply, they need to [boo], they need to,” Dobbins stated. “We're not superb at instances. They need to be mad as a result of we now have a lot expertise. We have got to determine it out … and we are going to.”
The Broncos completed with 11 penalties for 78 yards in Thursday's win, with eight of these approaching offense. It was the fourth recreation of the season that the workforce had a minimum of 10 accepted penalties.
Denver has the second-most penalized offense within the league, with 52 in 10 video games, together with penalties which were declined. Solely the Jacksonville Jaguars have extra penalties on offense (53 in eight video games).
“[The Raiders] did some issues that have been difficult [on defense] … however too many penalties on offense that put us in a gap, and I've received to be higher additionally,” Broncos coach Sean Payton stated.
Nix added: “We received to do higher. In some unspecified time in the future, 10 factors is not going to be sufficient.”
Even the Broncos' game-winning area purpose got here because of a blocked punt by security JL Skinner that gave the offense the ball on the Raiders' 12-yard line with 1 minute, 29 seconds left within the third quarter. The Broncos misplaced 2 yards on the following three performs mixed, and Wil Lutz kicked a 32-yard area purpose that was the distinction within the recreation.
However Denver's defensive gamers stated their offensive counterparts nonetheless should not fear. Even because the Broncos stay on tempo to problem the league's single-season sack report of 72 by the 1984 Chicago Bears, they are saying they're prepared for anything thrown their manner.
“No matter we have to do, we do,” Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton stated. “Simply persevering with to provide [the offense] the ball, give them each alternative.”
“We do not have a look at what the offense does, what the particular groups does. Our job is to go on the market and get stops,” stated Broncos outdoors linebacker Nik Bonitto, who had 1.5 sacks within the win. “So, we now have that mentality, and we now have the fitting guys who are available in with that mentality.”
