Broncos vs. Raiders third quarter recap

The Las Vegas Raiders opened up the third quarter with a pooch kick that they covered perfectly to force the Denver Broncos to begin their possession from their own 17 yard line.

Denver opened their drive with yet another penalty on Noah Fant. That one was for holding. They got some of those yards back when the Raiders lined up offsides. On first and 14, Teddy Bridgewater handed off to Melvin Gordon for a five yard gain. With an empty backfield, Bridgewater had Raiders all over him almost immediately and he threw it away just as quickly. On third and nine, Bridgewater throws a near interception and it was almost stolen away by Tim Patrick. The pass fell incomplete for a quick three and out for Denver.

It seemed the house of cards that the Broncos built in the first three weeks finally all came crashing down in the second half. It didn’t take long for the Raiders to extend their lead on their first second half drive. In three plays they scored another touchdown on a Kenyan Drake touchdown.

Raiders 24, Broncos 7.

The Broncos offense finally woke up on their next drive. A couple of first down gains on throws from Bridgewater to Noah Fant and then Courtland Sutton setup an outside hand off to Javonte Williams who broke a tackle on his way to a 30 yard gain.

Two plays later, the Broncos play calling again reared its ugly head. The Raiders have the worst red zone defense in the NFL and Denver still couldn’t get it done. On third and seven, Bridgewater missed a touchdown pass to Noah Fant to end the drive.

Raiders 24, Broncos 10.

The Broncos defense forced a quick three and out. Bridgewater went for it all to Sutton on first down, but he dropped it 50 yards down field. Teddy got the first down on the next play on a pass to Eric Saubert for 10 yards to get them out of the shadow of their own end zone.

Whatever momentum the Broncos hoped to get on that drive ended with yet another pressure on Bridgewater who scrambled out of the pocket and fumbled while diving for extra yardage.

It seemed like the Broncos defense would recover with a quick three and out forcing the Raiders into a 3rd and 12, but this isn’t the game for a comeback attempt. Derek Carr threw up a prayer that fell right into the bucket for Henry Ruggs at the four yard line.

The third quarter would end with some rage.