Everyone figured the Broncos would have an easy time on Thursday night in Oakland. In the early going it appeared that everyone was right.
The Broncos jumped out to a 7-0 lead after marching down the field for a touchdown on their first possession, then increased the lead to 10-0 with a field goal on their second possession. The Broncos’ third drive, early in the second quarter, also ended with a field goal to make the score 13-0. The Raiders’ defense sacked Manning a couple times, but when Manning had time to pass, the Raiders had no answer.
On offense, the Raiders got a huge play when Carson Palmer hit Rod Streater deep for 58 yards, but they got nothing out of it when Palmer was intercepted by Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey after that.
Things got even worse for Oakland when safety Tyvon Branch, the best player in the Raiders’ secondary, left the game with an apparent ankle injury. The Raiders are going to need to turn things around in a hurry to avoid this one getting ugly.