The Denver Broncos suffered a disappointing loss to the Oakland Raiders in the 2019 NFL season opener. Regardless, general manager John Elway is not ready to cast this team off just yet.
The Broncos had been outplayed by the Raiders for the bulk of the game. According to Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic, Elway is not ready to press the panic button after the first game of the season:
“You don't get to see a lot of what they're doing in the preseason because they're not playing their guys anymore. That first game is always a little more of a wild card as far as what people are going to do. (The Raiders) did a tremendous job of running the football. (Josh) Jacobs is a real good back, and they did a great job of getting the ball out of (Derek) Carr's hand and taking our pass-rush out of the game. He made the right decisions and put the ball on the money.”
Elway added that he is happy with how the Broncos came out in the second half.
“I think the most disappointing thing in the first half was we didn't get off the field more. But then again, I was really excited about how we responded and came out in the second half and played pretty darn well on the defensive side.”
There is some truth to Elway's comments. The first game of the season is hardly ever as refined as those that come in December, however, there was still good reason for him to be disappointed.
The Broncos' offense was held to less than 100 total yards in the first half while being shut out in the process. Quarterback Joe Flacco was finally able to find his footing in the second half with the help of a balanced attack in the backfield from Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman.
Unfortunately, Denver's efforts at a potential comeback fell short due to their inability to produce stops on defense in the fourth quarter.
The Broncos will have a chance to avenge their loss when they host the Raiders in the season finale.
For now, they need to focus on bouncing back in Week 2 versus the Chicago Bears.
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