Report Card: Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos

A post-game breakdown of the Oakland Raiders loss to the Denver Broncos, handing out letter grades to each positional group.

After coming off back-to-back wins, the Oakland Raiders laid an egg in Mile-High in their 24-6 defeat at the hands of the Denver Broncos. This loss had major playoff implications. It knocked the Raiders out of winning the AFC West, which will now send them on the road to take on the Houston Texans on Wild Card weekend.

Here’s a breakdown.

Jan 1, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Matt McGloin (14) before the game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Offense

Quarterbacks

Heading into Sunday afternoon, there were many media members and fans alike hopping on the Matt McGloin bandwagon. Anyone who was found on that bandwagon, was left hanging miserably. McGloin was not even able to make it through the first half. In his limited snaps, he went 6/11 for 21 yards, missing on a number of errant throws that could have possibly led to points.

When McGloin left the game with a shoulder injury, the Raiders got their first real look at Connor Cook. Considering the circumstances, there were not high expectations. In relief of McGloin, Cook went 14/21 for 150 yards, to go along with 1 touchdown, 1 interception and a strip-sack fumble which resulted in a turnover.

There are many questions that need to be answered at the quarterback position. “Will Cook or McGloin get the start next week?” would be a good start.

There is one thing that is clear. Derek Carr might not win the MVP, but Sunday’s performance shows how big of a void the Raiders have when Carr is not on the field.

Grade: D-

Running Backs

The running backs were expected to carry the load for the Raiders offense. They did not accomplish that.

As a group, the Raiders running backs carried the ball 16 times for 57 yards for an average of 3.6 yards per carry.

DeAndre Washington was the lone spark for the running backs with 43 yards on 7 carries. Latavius Murray was no where to be found, with only 5 carries for 11 yards. Jalen Richard also got minimal touches, with only 3 carries for 3 yards.

The lone turnover from the run game came from wide receiver Johnny Holton, who was used as a runner on an end-around play, that ended up being a lost fumble.

Grade: D

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

The receivers deserved to be graded on a curve on Sunday afternoon. In addition to playing with a backup quarterback, the receivers were then left to be catching balls from a fourth-round rookie in his first official NFL action. The one positive to take away was that there was not a single drop by any of the receivers.

Michael Crabtree once again led all receivers with 5 receptions for 47 yards, which put him over 1,000 yards receiving for the year. Amari Cooper added 4 receptions for 39 yards and an incredible touchdown reception in the 3rd quarter. Seth Roberts was the only other receiver that recorded a catch. Roberts came away with 3 receptions for 26 yards.

The tight ends have been a practical no-show for the majority of the season. Clive Walford and Mychael Rivera combined for 3 receptions for 26 yards and Walford had a big drop which stalled Connor Cook’s opening drive in the 2nd quarter.

Grade: C+

Offensive Line

The offensive line had one of their more lackluster performances of the year by their standards. Overall, the offensive line was beaten on multiple occasions at the line of scrimmage and got little to none push in the run game.

While not being able to open clear running lanes for the running backs, they also allowed their quarterback(s) to get sacked twice, as well as getting Matt McGloin knocked out of the game with a quarterback hit in the first half.

Grade: C

Jan 1, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas (88) stiff arms Oakland Raiders cornerback Sean Smith (21) in the third quarter at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos won 24-6. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Defense

Defensive Line

The defensive line was a near no-show on Sunday afternoon. While not being able to get to Trevor Siemian, the defensive line was not able to penetrate the offensive line in the run game much, and were beaten on multiple occasions. The run defense gave up 143 yards on the game on 40 attempts for an average of 3.6 yards per rush.

Khalil Mack was a one-man show. Mack led all defensive lineman with 5 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and had a single QB hit.

Grade: C-

Linebackers

The linebackers as a whole were a non-factor for the majority of the game. This has been a re-occurring theme for nearly the whole year. In addition to being a non-factor, the linebackers have been repeatedly failing to shed blocks and create any penetration in the run game.

Malcolm Smith led all Raiders defenders with 12 tackles. Bruce Irvin was 2nd in tackles for linebackers with 5, and added 2 tackles for loss and a QB hit. Perry Riley Jr. had 4 tackles.

Grade: D

Secondary

If you look at the stat sheet, it appears that the secondary did a good job by only holding the passing game to 206 yards. Wrong. The Raiders secondary made Trevor Siemian look like an above-average quarterback. Along with the 206 yards passing, Siemian went 17/27.

Sean Smith looked very slow and unable to keep up with even the Broncos’ third-string wide receiver. David Amerson has had his moments this year, but has been wildly inconsistent and had a killer pass interference penalty in the end zone, which led to easy points for the Broncos.

The lone bright spot was Brynden Trawick, who led all DB’s with 10 tackles, a pass defensed and also had an interception, which appeared to be a momentum builder at the time.

Tackling was also an issue for the DB’s. Broncos running back Justin Forsett broke a 64-yard run because T.J. Carrie was unable to wrap up and make a simple open-field tackle. Giving up big plays have been the story of this year’s Raiders secondary.

Grade: D

Special Teams

Special teams was another phase of the game that the Raiders lost. Sebastian Janikowski was unable to get on the stat sheet for the first time this season.

Marquette King did nothing but stuff the stat sheet. You never want to see your punter with 8 punts in a game because that means your offense is not moving the ball. King was able to down 5 of those punts inside the 20 and had a long of 68 yards.

Jalen Richard also added 2 punt returns for 18 yards.

Grade: C