Broncos Week 4 recap: Wilson rises, team falls
RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post
To no Denver Broncos fan’s surprise, the team fell this week 23-32 to division rivals, the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. Despite being 0-3, the Raiders have a recent winning record against Denver winning the last four matchups, now five.
While the AFC West is undoubtedly a challenging division, the Broncos continue to linger in the bottom half of the talent heavy, competitive foursome.
Despite the loss, Russell Wilson shined, throwing two touchdowns, rushing for one, passing for 237 yards and putting up a zero in interceptions. Denver displayed its versatility on the receiving end as Wilson was able to hit Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, Kendall Hinton, Eric Saubert and more downfield throughout the game. He found KJ Hamler in the redzone for a 55-yard connection (his first catch of the season) to set the Broncos up for a rushing touchdown by Wilson.
Still, it wasn’t enough.
As I said last week, the defense can’t do all the heavy lifting each week and we saw some wavering this week; the unit allowed 25 first downs to Denver’s 12, producing only two sacks and no turnovers. Pat Surtain had a big stop at the goal line in the first quarter but the Raiders did find some success targeting him later on. The Raiders rushed for a total of 212 yards headed by Josh Jacobs who totaled two touchdowns and 114 yards himself.
The defense struggled but Denver’s Special Teams looked great, reacting quickly to a surprise onside kick attempt in the second quarter. Montrell Washington led the way providing Denver with great field position off big punt returns on two occasions. After he gave the Broncos great field position near the 50-yard line late in the second quarter, Javonte Williams successfully converted a fourth down attempt only to be followed by a Melvin Gordon fumble (his fourth of the season) into the arms of Raiders’ Amik Robertson who would run it back to give the Raiders six, despite a humble chase down by offensive tackle Garret Bolles, leaping at Robertson as he crossed the end line.
During the fourth quarter, Wilson was able to keep Denver’s hopes alive with a big third down conversion on foot in addition to a handful of deep completions downfield. There was a chance late in the game for the Broncos to come back but Las Vegas sealed the deal with a late touchdown. Now at 2-2, and with Javonte Williams out for the season, the Broncos have an uphill battle ahead of themselves.
RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post
The offense was finally able to produce but in Broncos fashion, when one thing works, something else fails. Can Denver become a well-oiled machine in time for their next division match-up? They face the Indianapolis Colts next week before heading to Los Angeles Chargers for a divisional matchup on Monday Night Football.
