Although the Oakland Raiders endured their fair share of distractions going into the 2019 NFL season, they were able to kick things off on the right foot with a win over the Denver Broncos in the opener.
First Quarter
The Raiders managed to kick things off with a promising opening drive on offense. Darren Waller wasted no time in making his presence felt with two quick receptions for 36 yards. They were able to strike first with a 10-play, 72-yard sequence that resulted in an eight-yard touchdown pass from Derek Carr to Tyrell Williams.
The Broncos did not have as much luck on their opening drive as they attempted to get Phillip Lindsay going out in space with a quick two receptions of his own. He was quickly bottled up and Denver was forced to punt after going three-and-out.
Carr continued his hot start to the game on the next drive by completing his first eight passes for 83 yards and a touchdown. However, a penalty killed their momentum on offense and they were forced to punt before ending the first quarter with a 7-0 lead.
Second Quarter
The Broncos were finally able to find their footing on offense thanks to the efforts of Courtland Sutton. He was an integral reason why Flacco was able to complete his first four passes of the game by hauling in two of them for 48 yards.
Both teams struggled to swing the drive in their favor after trading multiple penalties. The Raiders were finally able to take advantage of their hounding pressure thanks to a strip-sack by Benson Mayowa. While they did not recover the fumble, they did manage to avoid any points being put on the board by forcing the punt.
Oakland’s offense was able to take advantage by taking the top off Denver’s defense after Carr found Williams for a 43-yard reception to put them in scoring position. They were finally able to cap things off with a two-yard plunge by Josh Jacobs for the first touchdown of his career to help give the Raiders a 14-0 lead.
The ensuing Broncos drive almost came to an end had it not been for a costly pass interference call on Gareon Conley. It was ultimately alleviated by a holding penalty on Noah Fant which forced Brandon McManus to try and convert a lofty 64-yard attempt. His kick fell just short and the Raiders effectively dealt a shut out in the first half.
Third Quarter
Denver appeared to be well on their way to responding with a touchdown of their own after putting together a 12-play, 67-yard drive to start the second half. Oakland’s defense finally found a way to hunker down in the red zone and limit them to a 26-yard field goal by McManus.
The Broncos then managed to force their first three-and-out of the game to quickly get the ball back midway through the third quarter. It did not take them long to capitalize on a 19-yard gain by Royce Freeman that was further supplemented by a 15-yard penalty on Jonathan Abram. His tackle proved to be quite costly after dealing a devastating injury to Conley in the process as well.
Denver was poised for their first touchdown of the game, but Oakland got bailed out by a crucial dropped pass by DeSean Hamilton in the end zone. They were forced to settle for another field goal by McManus to slim the lead to 14-6 heading into the final quarter.
Fourth Quarter
The Raiders opened up the fourth quarter by taking full advantage of their favorable field position. It took them just five plays to cap a 60-yard drive with Jacobs’ second touchdown of the night to take a 21-6 lead.
The Broncos quickly responded with a 53-yard strike to Emmanuel Sanders. Fortunately, they were able to contain them in the red zone once again to maintain a 12-point deficit midway through the fourth.
Dwayne Harris provided with another drive starting in prime field position with a monster return to give him over 100 return yards on the day. Although the offense was not able to take advantage with a touchdown, they still managed to extend their lead with a 29-yard field goal from Daniel Carlson.
While the Broncos made one final push, the Raiders earned their first win of the new season.
