One of the most pivotal moments of the Las Vegas Raiders' season was their Week 5 road matchup against the Denver Broncos. The Raiders entered the game 2-3, in desperate need of a victory of any kind, especially a divisional win.
The game would not only be a turning point for the Raiders, but a microcosm of their season as a hole. The Raiders took an early 10-3 lead against the Broncos and were driving in to score either a touchdown or an easy field goal.
However, veteran quarterback Gardner Minshew's pass on the Broncos' five-yard line was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Instead of taking either a 13-3 lead or a 17-3 lead, the Raiders would never recover in the game, or the season.
The interception sparked an unbelievable 31-0 Broncos run. The Silver and Black's 34-18 loss to the Broncos sparked a 10-game losing streak.
As frustrating as the Raiders' losses to Denver were, the Broncos' defense is statistically one of, if not the best, in the league.
Ben Rolfe of the Pro Football Network recently released his rankings of every team in the league following the completion of the regular season.
"The Denver Broncos finished the regular season as the only defense this season to crack the A-grade range," Rolfe said. "However, the Broncos didn’t come close to that level in their Wild Card round loss to the Buffalo Bills. Denver’s 68.6 (D-) grade was the team’s second-worst in any game this season, ahead of only their 41-10 blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 9.
"Denver ended up ranking first in EPA per dropback and first in EPA per rush on defense but struggled to stop either side of Buffalo’s offense. The Broncos averaged their second-worst EPA per rush (-0.11) and third-worst EPA per dropback (-0.47). All that led to their worst success rate in 18 games this season (46%). The Broncos enjoyed a welcome surprise season in 2024 after missing the playoffs eight straight seasons. Now that the drought is over, Denver can look to build a Super Bowl contender behind Bo Nix and this elite unit.
