2 Winners, 8 Losers From Broncos' 37-12 Loss to Raiders
There's no way to sugarcoat it; the performance the Denver Broncos turned in on Sunday in their Vegas debut was ugly. Falling to the Las Vegas Raiders 37-12, head coach Vic Fangio said of the Broncos' loss that it had "everybody's fingerprints" on it.
The Broncos fall to 3-6 on the season. With nothing to celebrate and no silver lining to hang one's hat on coming out of this one, who were Denver's biggest winners and losers at the individual level?
Winner: Bryce Callahan | CB
Simply put, after missing Week 9 with an ankle, Callahan was a difference-maker in Vegas. Although there was one busted play that saw Raiders' TE Darren Waller sneak behind Callahan (a pass that was dropped), the Broncos' corner was a life-saver in Vegas.
Callahan broke up a couple of passes and was a physical presence. He racked up three solo tackles and proved yet again to be Fangio's most valuable corner.
Winner: Melvin Gordon | RB
The last of today's winners, Gordon carried the ball 11 times and totaled 46 yards. Each yard was dearly purchased as the Broncos' O-line allowed Raiders' penetration into the backfield at will.
I lost count of how many tackles Gordon broke on Sunday but without his tough-nosed running, I shudder to think how an already abjectly bad Broncos' offensive performance could have shaken out. Gordon wasn't much in the passing game but his QB didn't help him.
Loser: Drew Lock | QB
What more can be said about Lock's dreadful performance in Vegas? He failed to complete even 50% of his passes (48.9) and tossed four interceptions, including one in the end zone that took three points off the board to end the second quarter (at least).
Lock failed to bounce back in the second half, as he has been wont to do of late, and only seemed to double down with his erratic and reckless play. Although Fangio says the Broncos remaine "committed" to Lock as the starter, it's hard to see any remaining upside in this once-promising QB.
However, stranger things have happened in the NFL. And Lock does have talent. But his coaches can't seem to extract it on the field of play.
Loser: Broncos' O-Line
Listen, the Pro Football Focuses of the world might throw a positive grade Garett Bolles' way, but even he was a loser in Week 10 after jumping offsides and failing to do his part to open up running lanes on the ground. Dalton Risner, Lloyd Cushenberry, Graham Glasgow (also penalized), and Calvin Anderson — each played a pivotal role in the Broncos' repugnant offensive performance.
Between failing to establish a ground attack and allowing constant pressure on Lock to a Raiders' defense that entered Week 10 ranked among the league's worst in sacks, this was a categorical and collective failure on the part of the Broncos' O-line. When Fangio talks about "fingerprints" being on this one, at least five of those unique marks belong to Mike Munchak's unit.
Loser: Diontae Spencer | KR/PR
Despite missing nearly a quarter of the first half of the season with a shoulder injury, the Broncos opted to hold onto Spencer instead of placing him on injured reserve or waiving him. Meanwhile, Tyrie Cleveland did a great job of handling kickoff return duties in Spencer's absence, with a little help from Callahan and KJ Hamler on punts.
Spencer re-entered the lineup in Vegas and on his first swing at the plate, produced a face-palm moment. On the Raiders' kickoff to open the game, Spencer fielded the short kick and reversed field twice, only to be tackled inside the 5-yard line. A penalty on the play backed Lock and company up to the 2.5-yard line.
The special teams snafu set the tone for the entire game and started the Broncos off on entirely the wrong foot.
Loser: Davontae Harris | CB
Mercifully, Harris saw no time on defense as a corner. He makes the losers' list for running into Spencer on a punt return, which nearly caused a muffed punt and once again pinned the Broncos deep inside their own territory.
Harris can't seem to do anything right, leaving fans and media alike to wonder why the Broncos hold onto him. All-in, the Broncos' special teams performance was saved by savvy punting by Sam Martin and sure-fire kicking by Brandon McManus.
Coordinator Tom McMahon could be on the hotseat after yet another game where his unit sprung multiple leaks.
Loser: A.J. Bouye | CB
Bouye returned from concussion protocol and the rust fell off in chunks. He was late in coverage and struggled against the Raiders' wideouts, especially the shifty Hunter Renfro.
Maybe Bouye will turn it around but he's not justifying the fourth-round pick the Broncos gave up to acquire him from Jacksonville in the offseason, nor the $13 million base salary Denver absorbed. Most of that is due to the injury bug, which has always been a concern for Bouye.
Loser: Bradley Chubb & Malik Reed | OLB
No sacks. Again. And this from a rush linebacker duo that stacked 10-plus sacks between them from Weeks 4-8.
Derek Carr wasn't sacked once in the game and neither Chubb nor Reed could make a difference in the run game as edge-setters. Throw in backup Anthony Chickillo's at times cringe-worthy performance against the run and it was a forgettable day at the office for the Broncos' edge defenders.
Loser: Broncos' D-Line
No sacks. And another 200-plus rushing total relinquished by the Broncos' front seven. It's hard to fault them too much, considering the D-line was absent even one of its day-one starters but all the king's horses couldn't forestall the Raiders from dominating the defense.
Hopefully, Shelby Harris can return next week from COVID-19 protocol but any opponent watching film on this squad knows that pounding the rock between the tackles is the surest way to establish momentum and create manageable third-down situations.
Loser: Noah Fant | TE
Fant just can't get on the same page with Lock. Something was off with Fant in Vegas. Between his fateful holding penalty at the end of the second quarter that wiped a Lock rushing touchdown off the board, and failing to recognize the blitz or anticipate that Lock would sight-adjust and target him hot at the snap, it was a poor performance by Fant.
The talented tight end finished with just three receptions on seven targets for 18 yards.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
