Raiders Beat Broncos, Take Over 1st Place in AFC West

The Oakland Raiders had a record of 6-2 going into their Sunday Night Football game on November 6th at home against the Denver Broncos. That’s a good record, but some questioned whether they could actually compete with the best in the league or not. The Raiders two losses were to the Falcons and Chiefs, arguably the best opponents they had faced, plus the Oakland defense had given up a lot of points in the first half of the season. A victory over the Broncos, who were also 6-2 and tied with the Raiders for 1st place in the AFC West, would go a long way towards answering that question.

The Raiders were up for the challenge. The defense held the Broncos’ ground game to just 33 yards while Oakland rushed for 218 yards as the Raiders beat the Broncos 30-20. Latavius Murray rushed for 114 of those 218 yards and scored three touchdowns. QB Derek Carr didn’t have huge numbers like he had the week before against Tampa Bay, but against the Broncos better defense he was 20 for 31 passing for 184 yards, which supplemented the rushing offense adequately. Carr had no touchdowns, but also no interceptions.

The Raiders will head into their bye week in sole possession of 1st place in the AFC West. Oakland’s nest game will be on Monday Night Football on November 21st when they will host the Houston Texans. Denver plays at New Orleans next Sunday.