The Las Vegas Raiders came up short for the third straight week, falling 10-7 to the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football at Empower Field at Mile High.
While the contest was an offensive slump for both sides, the defeat set a new low for Las Vegas offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, whose unit has now scored fewer than 10 points in four games this season. The only times this has happened before in the first 10 games of a season were in 1981, 2006, and 2009, per Josh Dubow of The Associated Press.
The Raiders managed just nine points against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2, six against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5, none against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7, and seven against Denver tonight.
Kelly, who joined Las Vegas under head coach Pete Carroll in the offseason after coordinating Ohio State’s offense, is currently the NFL’s highest-paid offensive coordinator at $6 million annually, but the results so far do not justify the investment.
Quarterback Geno Smith found himself overwhelmed under pressure against the Broncos, completing 16 of 26 passes for 143 yards with one interception and a passer rating of 60.3. The Orange Crush sacked Smith six times and pressured him on 13 dropbacks, including a fourth-quarter sequence that led to a missed 48-yard game-tying field goal by Daniel Carlson. Smith also suffered a quad injury in the second half, though he returned after missing only two plays.
Rookie running back Ashton Jeanty accounted for the Raiders’ only touchdown on a 4-yard plunge but had two drops and was limited to 60 rushing yards on 19 carries.
Las Vegas rookie receivers saw extended playing time after the trade of Jakobi Meyers, but mistakes fed into the team’s problems. Jack Bech lost a 32-yard run to a holding penalty, Dont’e Thornton Jr. had an offensive pass interference that negated a 31-yard touchdown, and Tre Tucker’s fourth-down score was nullified. The Raiders finished with nine penalties, one punt blocked, and one missed field goal.
Denver’s defense was relentless, blitzing its way to six sacks and limiting Las Vegas to 186 yards and 10 first downs. Broncos quarterback Bo Nix completed 16 of 28 passes for 150 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Denver’s scoring came on a Troy Franklin touchdown and a Wil Lutz field goal, set up by a blocked Raiders punt from AJ Cole.
The Broncos improved to 8-2 and will meet the Kansas City Chiefs, while the Raiders slipped to 2-7 and will take on the Dallas Cowboys in Week 11.
