Broncos vs. Raiders second quarter recap

The Denver Broncos defense got rolling to start the second quarter. An Alex Singleton sack on first down was negated by a holding call that Nathaniel Hackett accepted, then Josey Jewell knifed through for a sack to force a second and 29 at the Broncos’ 46-yard line.

After Josh Jacobs went nowhere, Derek Carr on third and 29 found Mack Hollins for 19 yards to bring out the field goal unit. Daniel Carlson would push the 46-yard field goal wide and the Las Vegas Raiders would come up with zero points again.

A short pass over the middle to Melvin Gordon and a run by him opened the Broncos next drive with a first down. Then a quick pass outside to Eric Saubert gained another first down.

Yes, the Broncos offense is getting first downs on drives. Even I am shocked to be writing about it.

Russell Wilson, from the Raiders 32-yard line, first a pass to rookie Brandon Johnson to the back of the end zone where one foot just landed out of bounds. The Broncos offense finally stalled there at the 30-yard line where Brandon McManus would boot a 48-yard field goal to put the Broncos up two scores.

Broncos 10, Raiders 0.

The Raiders finally stopped beating themselves. Behind the legs of Josh Jacobs who punished the Broncos defense through most of the drive until Derek Carr found Davonte Adams breaking free away from Pat Surtain for a 31-yard touchdown to get Las Vegas their first points of the game.

Broncos 10, Raiders 7.

With five minutes to go in the half and starting from their own 14-yard line, the Broncos needed to keep the offense going. They did so with a quick rollout pass to Kendall Hinton for a first down and a 17-yard gain. A bobbled reception by Melvin Gordon went nowhere to setup a second and 10.

A false start made it second and 15, but Wilson was able hang tough while getting hit hard to find Gordon for an 11-yard gain. On third and four, Wilson hit Greg Dulcich who turned it up field for a first down. An illegal crack-back block by Courtland Sutton negated all of that and nearly ended the drive. However, on a third down run by Russell Wilson ended with a late hit penalty on Maxx Crosby to put Denver on the Raiders side of the field.

A pass outside to Kendall Hinton put the Broncos into field goal range at the two minute warning.

Back-to-back plays went nowhere for Denver on the fringes of field goal range. On third and eight, Wilson threw a back-shoulder to Courtland Sutton for a 21-yard gain into the Raiders red zone. An eight-yard pass to Eric Saubert set the Broncos up with a second and two from the four-yard line.

Two plays later, Melvin Gordon fumbled. Fortunately, the Broncos recovered. Brandon McManus then had his field goal blocked. Thanks Melvin!