Raiders report card: Defense at head of class after another loss

DENVER — How the Raiders performed in a 10-7 loss to the Broncos on Thursday at Empower Field at Mile High:

Offense

It was another stagnant night for the offense, though this time it was even more magnified because the defense kept the Raiders in position to steal a road victory.

At one point from early in the second quarter until a downfield pass to Tre Tucker with 12:30 remaining, the Raiders went seven drives without getting a first down.

It’s the longest such streak of futility in the NFL this season, which is somewhat remarkable considering what happened to the Raiders against the Chiefs in Week 7.

Quarterback Geno Smith was again inconsistent. He finished the game after suffering a quad injury in the fourth quarter but was clearly laboring.

Defense

Now, let’s point out the obvious and stipulate that Denver quarterback Bo Nix was awful. But the Raiders should get some credit for that.

The unit held the Broncos to 33 percent on third down and 220 total yards. Cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly intercepted two passes to give the offense short fields, but to no avail.

Special teams

Punter AJ Cole controlled field position for the Raiders in the first half.

Two of his punts were downed inside the 2-yard line, including one that seemed to defy physics by bouncing sideways out of bounds after landing at the 1-yard line in the middle of the field.

But his protection broke down on a key third-quarter punt deep in Raiders territory, and the resulting block set up the Broncos for a go-ahead field goal.

Daniel Carlson missed a 48-yard field-goal attempt with 4:26 remaining that would have tied the game.

There was a holding penalty on a punt return that deprived the Raiders of decent field position in the first half and a borderline call against Dylan Laube that pushed them back to the 10-yard line on a drive with 12:48 remaining.

Coaching

Coach Pete Carroll and the coaching staff deserve high marks for having the team fired up and competitive in a short-week road game against an AFC West contender.

Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly made a nice call on a third-and-long play early in the game to beat the Broncos’ blitz with a screen pass to Raheem Mostert.

The Raiders chose to play field position early in the game, and it led to a 7-0 lead.

Carroll made the right call to go for it on fourth down midway through the second quarter, even if the results were disastrous.

Leaving Smith in the game when he could barely walk against the NFL’s best pass rush was a curious decision.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.