One Quarter In The Books
It was only one game. But it was certainly a thing of beauty.
The Broncos’ 37-6 rout of the Raiders last weekend showed what this team is capable of and showed the progress it has made. The Broncos went out and dominated a team they need to beat at home. In the process, the Broncos made it clear they have more than enough talent to win the AFC West.
This is a good, solid football team that, in my opinion, will continue to get better as the season goes along.
Broncos vs. Raiders: Participation Breakdown
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Playtime Percentage A breakdown of Broncos’ players participation in Sunday’s Week 4 win against Oakland |
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Inside the Numbers: Week 4
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Britton Colquitt’s only job on Sunday was to hold for Matt Prater’s field goals and extra points as the Broncos didn’t punt once all game. It was just the fifth time in the 792-game history of the team that Denver did not attempt a single punt.
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Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas posted a game-high 103 yards vs. Oakland to mark his fourth career 100-yard receiving game in the regular season. He has turned in 100-yard games twice in 2012.
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Denver’s offense became just the ninth in NFL history to post 500+yards of total offense and 37+points while not punting or allowing a sack.
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Denver’s 37-6 victory vs. Oakland represented its largest margin of victory against the Raiders in 50 years and the second-largest overall in the 104-game history of the rivalry.
Prater-Beadles Not Quite Montana-Rice
Leading 10-3 late in the second quarter, the Broncos found themselves facing a fourth-and-1 at the Oakland 36-yard line.
Having already converted a fourth-down play earlier in the game, the Broncos were left with trotting the offense back out on the field or bringing in kicker Matt Prater to attempt a 54-yard field goal.
Denver went with option C.
Punter Britton Colquitt took the snap as normal before tossing the ball to Prater, who dropped back as a quarterback.
The kicker rolled out and lofted a high pass down the sideline toward guard Zane Beadles, who was tripped up as the ball fell incomplete. The turnover on downs gave Oakland the ball, and the Raiders used the field position to drive down for a field goal just before halftime.
“It was a little disappointing,” Head Coach John Fox said. “I didn’t see exactly what happened. We got the look that we were looking for and obviously it wasn’t very well executed. It was really supposed to be designed more of as a run than a pass.”
Prater acknowledged that his initial read was to run for the first down, but he saw a Raiders safety headed his way, and he didn’t feel that he could outrun him.
After the 37-6 win — the largest margin of victory for the Broncos against the Raiders in 50 years — it was a little easier to joke about the unsuccessful fake field goal.
“I just kind of told them to maybe give ‘Manning-to-Stokley’ a chance, maybe before ‘Prater-to-Beadles,’” quarterback Peyton Manning joked. “It’s one of the all-time great combinations, right? ‘(Jim) Kelly-(Andre) Reed,’ ‘(Joe) Montana-(Jerry) Rice,’ ‘Prater-Beadles,’ you know?”
Prater was quick to point out that he’s undefeated as an “all-time quarterback” in a flag football league back home, so he was disappointed with his throw. Especially with the way Beadles was burning his way downfield.
“He was flying down the field — I thought it was (tight end Jacob) Tamme,” Prater laughed. “I tried to give him a 50-50 ball. Might have overthrown him a little bit. Had a little extra adrenaline – I’m not used to having the ball in my hands. It was fun, I’m glad we did it, just wish we would have executed it better.”
Whether Prater gets a chance to make up for his throw is up to his head coach.
“We probably won’t see that one again for a while,” Fox said.
Broncos vs. Raiders: Key Plays
Third-and-6 from the Denver 24: After the Broncos’ first two plays from scrimmage yielded just four yards, the team was faced with an early third down to stay on the field. Quarterback Peyton Manning hit wide receiver Brandon Stokley, who then ran for a 26-yard gain to midfield to extend the drive. The offense continued marching down the field and culminated the possession with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Manning to tight end Joel Dreessen.
Fourth-and-1 from the Oakland 40: The Broncos chose to pass on what would have been a 58-yard field goal attempt, and instead went for it on fourth down on their opening series. The gamble paid off as Manning hit tight end Jacob Tamme for an 8-yard gain to the Raiders 22-yard line. Manning hit Dreessen in the end zone on the next play to give Denver a 7-0 lead.
Third-and-1 from the Denver 29: Denver’s second drive of the game started much like its first, needing a third-down conversion to stay on the field. Manning found Tamme for a 10-yard pickup to keep the possession alive. The Broncos took it all the way down to the Oakland 3, before Matt Prater kicked a field goal to give Denver a 10-3 advantage.
Third-and-3 from the Denver 6: The Broncos defense came up with a big stop at the end of the second quarter as Oakland had driven deep into Denver territory. The defense forced the Raiders to settle for a field goal as Sebastian Janikowski converted the 24-yard attempt to keep the score in favor of Denver at the end of the first half, 10-6.
Broncos vs. Raiders: Gameday CoverageBRONCOS VS. RAIDERS:
BRONCOS BEAT RAIDERS 37-6: A stellar second-half performance helped the Broncos pull away from the Raiders at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
BRONCOS ON TWITTER: Follow the action on Twitter, as well, via the Broncos’ official gameday account. @BroncosGameday will keep fans updated with live, in-game updates throughout tonight’s matchup.
NFL GAMEPASS: For international Broncos fans located outside the United States and Mexico, watch tonight’s game live and in HD with NFL GamePass.
BRONCOS MOBILE APP: For those of you who follow the action on your smartphone, there’s a free official Broncos mobile app. On your smartphone, visit BroncosMobile.com to download it.
BRONCOS TV ON SITE: HOME VS. OAKLAND: Check out the weekly episode of Broncos TV On Site, featuring Chris Hall and Gray Caldwell as they break down this afternoon’s matchup with the Raiders.
ORANGE SUNDAY: Fans attending the game were encouraged to dress in orange, and a Broncos-themed bike ride through Denver will take place prior to kickoff.
TODAY’S INACTIVES: A list of today’s inactives has been announced.
PREGAME PHOTO GALLERY: To view pregame photos from the field, click here.
RAIDERS WIN COIN TOSS: The Oakland Raiders won the coin toss and chose to defer.
BRONCOS STRIKE EARLY WITH TOUCHDOWN: A 22-yard Joel Dreessen touchdown catch culminated an 80-yard opening drive.
RAIDERS RESPOND WITH FIELD GOAL: Following the Broncos’ touchdown, the Raiders drove to the Denver 21-yard line and converted on a 38-yard field goal attempt.
PRATER FIELD GOAL MAKES IT 10-3: The Broncos drove to the Raider 3-yard line and kicked a short field goal to increase their lead.
INJURY UPDATE: Center J.D. Walton injured his ankle in the second quarter.
RAIDERS FIELD GOAL CLOSES FIST HALF: The Raiders pulled within four points at the end of the first half.
FIRST HALF PHOTO GALLERY: View photos from the first half of action.
FIRST HALF AUDIO HIGHLIGHTS: Listen to highlights from the first half by clicking here. Audio courtesy of AM 850 KOA.
DECKER TOUCHDOWN EXTENDS DENVER LEAD: The Broncos made it 17-6 with a touchdown on their first possession of the second half.
MCGAHEE TOUCHDOWN FOLLOWS DEFLECTED PUNT: Willis McGahee carried it four straight times and scored a touchdown to make it 24-6.
MANNING TO BALL MAKES IT 31-6: Lance Ball caught a 14-yard touchdown to give the Broncos a 31-6 lead.
MCGAHEE TOPS 100: Willis McGahee has reached 100 yards rushing for the 32nd time in his career.
MANNING HITS 300: Peyton Manning has thrown for 300 yards for the 65th time of his career.
Prater Makes it 34-6: Matt Prater kicked a 44-yard field goal to extend Denver’s lead.
PRATER’S 53-YARDER EXTENDS LEAD: Matt Prater makes it 37-6 with a fourth-quarter field goal.
Prater’s 53-yarder Extends LeadOakland punted for the fifth time of the second half, as the Broncos gained possession at their own 24-yard line.
Willis McGahee started off the drive with a couple of carries preceding a first-down catch by Demaryius Thomas.
Running back Ronnie Hillman then ran it three straight times to gain 18 yards, moving Denver to near midfield.
A few plays later, Matt Prater kicked a 53-yard field goal to extend the lead to 37-6. He is now 7-of-7 on the year and 2-of-2 from beyond 50 yards. He is the franchise’s all-time most accurate kicker, 97-of-119 as a Bronco.
Prater Makes it 34-6Kicker Matt Prater capped off an 11-play, 44-yard drive with a 43-yard field goal to extend Denver’s lead to 34-6.
It was Prater’s second field goal of the day, and he has also added four extra points on each of the Broncos’ touchdowns, giving him 10 points in the game.
Eric Decker made two catches on the possession for 31 yards, giving him seven receptions for 79 yards on the day along with his touchdown. He leads all receivers in the game in catches and yards.
Manning Hits 300Just before the end of the third quarter, Peyton Manning hit Eric Decker on a 12-yard first-down reception.
On the play, Manning has now gone over 300 yards for the 65th time in his career, and second time this season. Manning owns the NFL record for 300-yard passing games, which he captured last week against the Texans.
It’s the first time the Broncos have had a 300-yard passer and a 100-yard rusher in the same game since Nov. 30, 2008 (Jay Cutler, Peyton Hillis).
Manning is 26-of-33 for 309 yards with three touchdowns through three quarters of play.
McGahee Tops 100The Broncos forced the Raiders to go three-and-out for the fourth straight time in the second half, giving Denver possession on the 31-yard line.
On the first play of the drive, Willis McGahee rushed for four yards, giving him 100 total rushing yards on the day.
Today now represents McGahee’s 32nd career 100-yard rushing game, which ranks first among active NFL players. It’s the second time he’s topped 100 yards this season after tying for the NFL lead with seven 100-yard performances a year ago.
He entered the game in third place among active players with 7,579 rushing yards since his rookie season in 2004.
He also ran for his third touchdown of the season on the prior drive.