The game started shaky with me joining most of Broncos Country in fearing a 9th straight loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. The team got a huge momentum-changing play from PS2 and never looked back.
That was one hell of a fun game to watch as a Denver Broncos fan and a raider hater.
One thing I’m not going to do with this win is read too much into it. The team we beat are not good. They don’t have a quarterback nor do they have an identity as a team. They honestly remind me of the Broncos over the past handful of years.
I am encouraged by the progress we saw in this game. The offense is showing definite signs of growth. Bo Nix is looking more comfortable in the offense each week. The defense is continuing to play dominating football. If the team can sustain this level of play, they will win a lot of games by the end of the season.
Offense
The one thing we saw in this game that was vastly different than most of the other games this season was a couple of really well-executed screens that turned into really solid gains for the team. Sean Payton has leaned on that and outlet routes close to or behind the line of scrimmage as a safety blanket for Nix.
Bo Nix's passing chart from Week 5. pic.twitter.com/KJdE5eANJ5
— Zack Kelberman (@KelbermanNFL) October 7, 2024
While I’ve heard a ton of fans bemoaning the use of the short routes, I just want to take a moment to say this is by and large being used well for Nix. Payton has him going through reads the vast majority of the time before getting to the short routes. This is all part of the offense. Screens and outlet routes are a staple of Payton’s offense. With more dynamic running backs and receivers in space, these routes will turn into big gains in the future.
What is worth complaining about is how little the offense pushes the ball downfield when defenses key on everything short. What we are seeing in recent games is Nix being able to connect on more of the intermediate to long throws which is keeping opposing defenses honest and is helping the offense get more productive drives.
The biggest thing the offense needs to improve on is their plays on 3rd down. They still aren’t connecting at a decent rate (25% this game) at converting them. Even just getting this rate up to 33% would be a significant improvement in offensive output.
Quarterbacks
As we watch Bo Nix grow as an NFL quarterback each week we are getting to see all the bumps along the way. He learned a lesson about Maxx Crosby and how you can’t think there’s a way to make him miss a sack. Hopefully in the future when he sees an elite pass rusher like that two steps away he learns to throw the ball away.
The big thing I’m seeing more of as Nix gets more and more comfortable is a definite uptick in accuracy. A great example of this was late in the game when he threw a back-shoulder sideline pass to Sutton that was incredibly accurate. It was a perfectly thrown ball that took advantage of the clear size mismatch Sutton had with his defender.
He also showed how to throw a perfect corner route inside the red zone on his 2nd touchdown pass of the game to Reynolds.
My favorite look at Nix in this game was seeing him on the sideline jawing at Sean Payton. I honestly got chills seeing it. Why? Because that shows how much this young man cares. It shows leadership and a great deal of mettle from the rookie. Also, I know Sean Payton at the end of the day LOVES it. That’s exactly what he wants from his quarterback.
Also for the No Bull record, I saw the problem on that Franklin play they were arguing about that Payton was surely critiquing: Marvin Mimms, Jr. was open for an easy first down gain of at least 10 yards, Nix read that first and chose to skip to the deep throw. That’s not what you do in a Payton offense. You take the first down and go for the deep route if the 1st read isn’t open.
Line
This offensive line continues to grow with the rest of the team. They aren’t always pretty. The run lanes aren’t always there. But these guys are grinders and they are getting it done by and large.
We do need to scratch our heads about the play with Luke Wattenburg snapping to a ghost thinking Nix was under center when he was in fact in shotgun. Luckily Nix jumped on the ball, but Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Over?
Big shout out to Matt Peart who had to step in at tackle for the Broncos and ended up taking 59% of the snaps in this game with Alex Palczewski going down with an injury. I was worried about it when I heard the injury mentioned, but the line didn’t miss a beat. Peart did a great job stepping in as a backup and being ready to help his offense not miss a beat.
Running Backs
Javonte Williams is continuing to round back into shape as a starting back. He’s running again with authority and seems to be getting most of his penchant for running into the backs of his blockers out of his system. He had a great screen for 30+ yards on a neat play design that used misdirection to get the Raiders going the wrong way that was a thing of beauty. The Sean Payton offense gets really dynamic when the players get these plays down and execute them perfectly. Williams got 30 yards on the play and should credit all of the other 10 players on the field for nailing their assignments. Williams killed it averaging 4.7 yards per run for 61 yards and caught 5 passes for 50 yards as well.
Jaleel McLaughlin caught a swing pass and did a superb job leaping to the pylon for a touchdown. That was fantastic effort and focus that got him to paydirt and put 6 on the board for the good guys. The Raiders seemed to have more success against him keeping his average to 3.7 yards per carry which is decent enough, honestly.
I loved seeing Payton dial up the jet sweep play for Marvin Mimms, Jr. who gained 17 after outrunning the first defender around the edge and turning on the burners to get downfield.
Receivers
Lil’Jordan Humphrey had a swing pass to gain 1 yard for a first down and broke a tackle to get a big gain inside the 5. Humphrey is a guy that I love watching every time he gets a catch. He runs with aggression and seems to make smart plays when gets his chances. I’d love to see him get more targets to be honest.
Troy Franklin, you have one job in the NFL: catch the ball. He had a great pass in the end zone with no defenders in the vicinity and let it go through his hands. Nix was kind enough in the post-game interview to say it was on him for not throwing it a yard shorter, but that’s honestly nonsense. That was a superb pass and if Franklin is going to be a threat in this league, he needs to make those catches.
Defense
This defense is playing lights-out top to bottom. Their secondary is lining up in man and daring receivers to beat them. That leaves Vance Joseph open to dial up pressure from anywhere and everywhere.
What I loved seeing from the Broncos in this game was that they were able to get pressure by and large without blitzing as often as they had in the first four weeks. They were often creating pressure with just 4 pass rushers.
Front 7
Zach Allen is the best player on the Broncos defensive front. He’s consistently pushing pockets and doing everything he can to help his team win. Late in the game he held the middle in front of a scrambling Minshew against a double team and gave Cooper a chance to crash down to get the sack. This won’t show up in the stat sheet, but it was the kind of play that great defensive linemen do to help their teams win games. What will show on the stat sheet was a superb sack against two blockers right up the gut late in the game. He also had 1 tackle for loss and 2 quarterback hurries to his credit on the day.
Nik Bonito had a sick sack off the edge on 3rd down looking like the kind of speed edge rusher this team needs. He also had a tackle for loss and a hurry to his credit in a game where he was on the field for 59% of the snaps.
I dig the way Justin Strnad attacks gaps to make plays. He only had one tackle for a loss to go with 9 tackles (team-leading), but the guy is just solid and is in the right fits where he needs to be play after play. He’s doing a great job filling in for Alex Singleton.
Jonathan Cooper put together a really nice game once again for the Broncos with 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack, and 2 quarterback hurries. But what I loved seeing most was him covering a pass in the flat perfectly. It isn’t something you see a ton from our outside linebackers, but he was up to the challenge (even though they didn’t give him credit for a defended pass).
Secondary
If you ever want to teach how to defend and out in the red zone, just put Surtain’s pick 6 from this game on and let your secondary take notes. He wasn’t fooled for a second with the fake block by the receiver, kept his outside technique, and then read the QB’s eyes to steal the ball. To add to his day, late in the game they try an in route that he bats up to himself for his 2nd interception. Luke Getsy really let his offense down by not making sure his quarterbacks knew to not throw on Patrick Surtain, II. When a team has a true shut-down corner, you just can’t throw their way unless you see him slip. He’s arguably the best corner in the NFL today. I guess we should extend some thanks to Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell for being dumb enough to test him.
The one cat I see as a weak link in this defense is P.J. Locke. He’s just too indecisive on 3rd down early and let Minshew rush for a 1st. On the very next play, he gave up a touchdown flat-footed, out of position, and largely clueless of what technique to use to defend a deep pass over the middle while manned up underneath the receiver. He did make a nice pass defense later in the 2nd quarter with a midair tackle to force an incomplete (we do need to give credit where it is due). The guy just plays too passive and reminds me of how Rahim Moore played late in his career.
Special Teams
Both Marvin Mims Jr. and Tremon Smith showed off their return skills in this game. Mims had a superb punt return for 38 yards while Smith had a kickoff return of 38. The Broncos’ special team’s return units still look great week after week.
Wil Lutz had a really dumb kickoff that went out of bounds and would have been a really big deal if the Raiders didn’t have an unnecessary roughness penalty enforced on the play. They started at the 25 instead of the 40.
Final Thoughts
I’m still squarely planted on the hill that this season is gravy. No matter what happens, this young team is getting much-needed experience and growth. This game was a great example of it.
Obviously, the growth at quarterback is the most important aspect and I’m pleased to see Nix and the offense taking steps forward in their development. I love seeing the offense opening up just a bit more each week with more well-executed throws downfield. Nix is looking more and more comfortable and looks like a rookie quarterback who has the goods. He’s not there yet, but you can see it. He’s dialed in and capable. He can throw to every level of the field and has a solid command of the offense that is getting better every week.
I don’t want to sell the rest of the team short, though. The offensive and defensive lines are both showing growth as well. The running backs are improving. The secondary looks damn near immaculate. A lot of the shine has to do with seeing the Broncos dole out a good old-fashioned ass-whooping on the Raiders, but I’m seeing a lot that I like from this team. If they continue to love the grind and play for each other, the sky is the limit.