5 winners, 8 losers from Broncos 32-23 loss to Raiders

Oct 3, 2022 - 1:10 AM

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The Denver Broncos have now lost five straight games to the Las Vegas Raiders.

The most recent is an unacceptable 32-23 showing on Sunday. And on a day the Broncos offense finally got into the end zone, the defense was softer than a baby’s butt.

In the process, Josh McDaniels and the Raiders got their first win of the season.

Per the usual, I’m bound to forget someone, leave them off or put them in the wrong category, so please mention them in the comments.

Winners

Montrell Washington

The rookie returner flashed for the first time in the regular season. His three punt returns set up the offense with great field position, even though the Broncos couldn’t do anything with it. Washington averaged 22 yards on his punt returns, with a long of 30.

Russell Wilson

Wilson and the Denver offense had life in the first half, completely disappeared in the third quarter, and came back to life in the fourth. Wilson made some great plays with his feet and with his arm. The offense is not why the Broncos lost on Sunday. Wilson and Co. did their job. Wilson finished 17-for-25 passing for 237 yards with two touchdowns and one more rushing. He was also the leading rusher for Denver with 29 yards on four carries.

Courtland Sutton

Sutton got his first TD of the season and continued to be the Broncos’ best offensive weapon. Sutton had five catches for 52 yards with a touchdown.

Jerry Jeudy

Jeudy caught his second TD of the season, hence why he’s on the winners’ list. Jeudy had four receptions for 53 yards.

K.J. Hamler

Given all that the young Broncos receiver has been through the last year, for him to get that long catch to set up Denver’s third TD was great to see. Why that deep threat wasn’t tried until the fourth quarter of the fourth game makes no sense, but was still a great moment for Hamler. His lone catch was for 55 yards.

Losers

Melvin Gordon

His huge fumble in the second quarter flipped this game. The Broncos were not the same team after that ginormous mistake. To make matters worse, Las Vegas scooped and scored. This is now a huge problem and he just cannot be trusted.

Nathaniel Hackett

Yet again his team was not prepared for the moment and it showed. Seven more penalties in key moments that hurt the team. His offensive playcalling is leaving a lot to be desired. It’s only four games, and the Broncos are 2-2, but he better start showing signs of improvement.

Ejiro Evero

If he makes the list for as well as the defense played the first three games, he makes the list with this kind of showing from his unit.

Denver’s offensive line +1

Holy smokes was the Broncos' O-line atrocious on Sunday. Denver couldn’t block anyone, in the running or passing game. And it appears Garett Bolles has reverted back to Garett Holds.

The Broncos defense

Instead of one player, the whole defense makes the list. Of course, it fails to show up when the offense finally gets touchdowns. In need of big stops, the Broncos get gashed by Josh Jacobs and Derek Carr. Missed tackles. Missed assignments. No push. No pressure. In a word, yikes.

The Broncos

Until this franchise figures out how to win divisional games, this won’t change. One win here or there over the Los Angeles Chargers is cute, but this team just cannot beat the Raiders or Kansas City Chiefs. If that doesn’t change, these winless streaks against the top rivals will persist.

Broncos Country

We’ve watched this team now lose five-straight games to the Raiders and 13-straight to KC. Something must change.