Bah, humbug! Broncos deliver dud in Christmas Eve loss to Raiders, 27-14
Dec 24, 2018, 11:30 PM | Updated: Dec 25, 2018, 1:44 am
For Christmas this year, the Denver Broncos gifted the Raiders a win in what was likely the final game for the franchise in Oakland. And sitting in the stockings all across Broncos Country, lumps of coal.
Facing back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1972, the Broncos dropped a Christmas Eve dud, losing to their long-time rival 27-17 in front of a national audience watching Monday Night Football.
“There is no doubt about it, Santa was dumping nothing but coal down the Broncos chimney,” said “The Drive” co-host DMac after the game. “I get it. It’s better if they lose, but did they have to look that bad?”
Denver’s offense looked down and out for most of the game, but specifically in the first half, where they were shut out and gained just 116 total yards.
After the game, head coach Vance Joseph said his team just “got off to a poor start again” and put the defense behind the 8-ball early.
“You have to score points to win, and that’s the bottom line. When you’re playing a good offense, they’re going to score some points,” Joseph said. “So, we have to get off to a better start and help the defense with scoring some points early so we can play on our terms some. That definitely affects your defense.”
The Broncos defense held the Raiders to just 273 total yards but couldn’t get off the field in key situations, giving up 20 points to go with another seven off what Joseph called a “bizarre” punt return for a touchdown early in the game.
“Defensively, we had our moments. But we still gave up two big drives when we had to get stops,” Joseph said. “So, we didn’t play winning football today.”
After the game, “Pritchard and Cecil” co-host Mike Pritchard said the whole football world saw the Broncos looking “really old, really slow, and totally uninspired against the Raiders.”
“The road back to respectability just got a little bit longer for the Broncos after this embarrassing loss,” Pritchard said.
“Stokley and Zach” co-host Brandon Stokley called the loss “really disappointing” and a microcosm of the Broncos 2018 season in general.
“Just a bad, bad season that has just gotten worse, which is hard to believe here in the past few weeks,” Stokley said.
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.
