After winning eight games in a row against the Denver Broncos, the Las Vegas Raiders suffered a clean sweep this season. After losing the first game in Denver, that Raiders lost at home 29-19.

The team was in it most of the way. Momentum became a killer and ultimately the Raiders would lose their starting quarterback for the remainder of the game. There are some key takeaways from this defeat, so let’s get right to it.

Momentum is a Killer

Pinch me if you’ve heard this before, but Gardner Minshew threw an interception at an inopportune time. Granted, it is never a good time to turn the ball over and throw an interception. However, for the second time this season against the Broncos, Minshew threw an interception that seemingly swung the momentum.

The Raiders were in the drivers seat. They were up 13-9 and the Broncos offense couldn’t muster up a drive to get into the end zone. Then the interception happened. Minshew threw an interception and the Broncos were in enemy territory. A key drive by Nix was capped off by a Courtland Sutton touchdown and the lead was never relinquished. In the first meeting, Minshew threw an interception in the red zone that was returned 98 yards for a touchdown. Once Denver got the lead they never gave it away.

The Broncos held a lead, but the game was close. The Raiders narrowed the gap and were ready to put a drive together to tie the game. Minshew goes down with an injury after taking a vicious hit. And then…the most chaotic thing happened.

You couldn’t make this up if you wanted to. Desmond Ridder comes into the game and on his very first snap, FUMBLES THE BALL. So the Broncos not only were in prime position to score, they extended the lead. At that point the damage was done and it was too late.

Momentum swings are killer, but if that’s not bad enough, the defense did their jobs well to keep the team in the game and even to win.

Defense Did Their Jobs

Despite losing by ten points, the Raiders defense did their jobs. For the first half, the Raiders held the Broncos offense to no touchdown and only field goals. Heck, they walked away at halftime with a lead and were feeling good about themselves. Heading to the fourth quarter, the teams were only separated by three points and the Raiders were fighting until the bitter end. Again, momentum was a killer in the end, but the defense did good things on the field.

For starters, the run defense was good. The Raiders did a good job not getting ran over like they normally do and saw the Broncos lead rusher only reach 44 yards. For majority of the game, the Raiders defense one third down was spectacular. In the end, the Broncos offense was able to sustain more drives in the fourth quarter and finished the game with a 40% success rate on third down.

The defense was also able to neutralize Nix for the most. Credit to Nix, who is looking more and more comfortable under center and for a rookie that’s great to see. Despite holding him in check in the first half, he was able to land a pair of touchdowns to Sutton.

It was not a perfect game, but it was a game where the defense did their job enough to give the team a chance to win. They needed help from the club offensively, which has seemingly been impossible to find.

Welcome to the Jakobi Meyers Game

The Broncos had one game plan and that plan was to shutdown rookie tight end Brock Bowers. It worked, as they held him to just four catches for 38 yards. This would lead to the Raiders having to spread the ball to other targets which is something they’ve lacked in the past two games. They utilized their number one receiver and utilized him well. Welcome to the Jakobi Meyers game.

The run game is horrible. Granted, Sincere McCormick looked fine and when he runs he runs with authority and with a purpose. A breath of fresh air because that’s more we can say for the rest of the backfield. Now, 33 yards isn’t a lot but I liked what I saw when he did gain some yardage.

Meyers was everywhere. The Raiders lined him up in different positions to find ways to get him the ball. Meyers had 10 receptions for 121 yards. It was good to see Meyers have this type of breakout game. He has tremendous talent and upside and can extend plays when the ball is placed in his hands.

The Raiders also saw Tucker catch seven balls on eight targets, which was great to see as well. With Minshew hurt and his status uncertain at this time, it’ll be interesting to see what the plan is at QB heading into next week.