FSM Essential Recap: Week 6 - Raiders Vs Broncos

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FSM Essential Recap: Week 6 – Raiders vs Broncos

Las Vegas Raiders (4-2) | Denver Broncos (3-3)

After a tumultuous week, the Raiders get back on track with a 34-24 victory on the road against the Denver Broncos.

Raiders vs Broncos — *Photo Credit: Dustin Bradford/Getty Images*

The Las Vegas Raiders were in the news this week for all the wrong reasons. Former head coach Jon Gruden resigned from his position with the team after damaging emails were revealed from 2010-2018, where he made some unacceptable remarks. Special teams coach Rich Bisaccia steps in as interim coach for the rest of the season.

Regardless of the change, the Raiders still had to prepare for a tough division rival on the road. So what would the Silver and Black show on the field after a week of change at head coach, while riding a two-game losing streak?

Despite everything hanging over the team heading into this week 6 match-up, the Raiders came out motivated, focused, and showed that with all going on outside, the team controlled what they could. They ended week 6 with an impressive 34-24 victory over the Denver Broncos.

The Raiders waisted no time in finding the end zone as they scored on their first drive to set the tone for the game.

The Raiders offense has struggled to start games fast this season, as they have not scored on an opening drive since Week 11 of last season. On Sunday they came out with a six-play drive and found the end zone on a 48-yard pass from Derek Carr to Henry Ruggs III to take an early lead. Scoring early energized the team. It also got Raider Nation, who traveled well to this game, pumped up which helped keep momentum on the Raiders side throughout the contest.

The Raiders would be tested early as the Broncos responded by scoring on their first drive as well, tying the game at 7. Both teams started the season off 3-0 and then both teams dropped their next two games giving them a 3-2 record heading into this Week 6 matchup, so a win for both was crucial. But the Raiders held steady as they would score on a 50-yard field goal on their next possession. The Raiders defense also stepped up after they got an interception by cornerback Brandon Facyson off Teddy Bridgewater near the end of the first quarter.

The Raiders showed early and often that they came here as the team we saw the first three weeks of the season. Armed with a balanced offensive attack and an edgy defense, this was a different Raiders team. The defense didn’t allow the Broncos to find a rhythm after their opening drive, and that would be a theme throughout most of the game.

The Raiders defense had their best showing of the season which led the way to the team’s victory.

While the Raiders have made strides and improvements on the defensive side of the ball all season, this was their best showing so far as they consistently got after the quarterback, which led to sacks and turnovers.

The team sacked Bridgewater five times, had three interceptions, and also forced and recovered a fumble. Leading the way was once again “Mad” Maxx Crosby, who had 3 sacks and even a pass deflection as he was an absolute nightmare for the Broncos’ offensive line all game. Defensive tackle Solomon Thomas also had a big presence, as he forced a fumble in the third quarter that lead to a Raiders’ touchdown shortly after.

It wasn’t just the defensive front who gave the Broncos fits, the secondary also came up big in coverage with three interceptions. Until the end of the game in garbage time, the unit didn’t allow deep passes for the big plays. Rookie safety Tre’von Moehrig got his first NFL interception of his career and third-year safety Johnathan Abram also had a pick late in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

Although the score was 34-24, the game wasn’t that close as the Broncos scored a touchdown with just over a minute left in the game. Otherwise, the Silver and Black had a stellar defensive showing which allowed for the offense to go for some aggressive play calling at times knowing their defense wasn’t going to give up easy plays.

This was the most complete team the Raiders have shown all season, and maybe since moving to Las Vegas. The offense was balanced and got big plays when the team needed it. The defense wreaked havoc both rushing the passer and creating turnovers. Given all that was going on, the Raiders ended their two-game skid on the road, against a division rival with a new head coach. It doesn’t get more impressive than that. These two teams will meet again after Christmas at Allegiant stadium in Las Vegas, so we’ll see how things play out then.

The Raiders will now return home to play the Philadelphia Eagles.

Getting back in the win column after all of the last weeks’ off-the-field activity was a huge morale booster for this team. They looked to have returned to their old ways after getting off to their best start in 20 years. Carr continued his great showing on the season with 341 yards passing and 2 touchdowns. The defense is still thriving, and now they can focus on moving on from the issues that floated over them all week and look to go a playoff push for the season.

The Raiders will be facing an Eagles team who had a mini bye week as they played the Thursday night game last week. The Eagles had that extra time off to lick their wounds, do some film study, and get ready to make the trip to the west coast. The Eagles have struggled this season, as they are 2-4, but no week is an easy one in the NFL, so if the Raiders want to make it two wins in a row, they have some work to do once they get home and prepare to protect their house.

Next week the Raiders will host the Philadelphia Eagles at Allegiant stadium on Sunday at 1:05pm PST on CBS

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-Kalani Lua – Franchise Sports Media

Follow Kalani on Twitter @klua11

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