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Week 12 Game Recap: Oakland Raiders 31, Denver Broncos 10
What you need to know
| Oakland Raiders |
The Raiders broke open a close game in the second half with a combination of strong running and pinpoint passing coupled with stellar defensive play, and a punt return for a touchdown thrown in for good measure. Oakland came into the game with the ignominious distinction of having not scored an offensive touchdown in 12 quarters, and extended that streak of futility into the third quarter, when Darren McFadden scored to give them a 17-10 lead. McFadden and Justin Fargas were ineffective in the first half, but the Raiders remained committed to running the ball, and they rewarded that commitment with tough, productive running in the second half. Between the two running backs they had three runs of four or more yards in the first half, and 13 such runs in the second half. Fargas overcame a tough beginning, gaining just 23 yards in his first ten rushing attempts, to amass 84 yards on his next 14 attempts. He ran with determination and gained several yards after initial contact in the second half. Fargas had three runs of ten or more yards in the second half. McFadden was used in a variety of roles, including being the quarterback in the Raiders' version of the wildcat formation twice, as a wide receiver several times, and as the goal line back. He scored two short-yardage touchdowns, and drew a penalty on a defensive back just outside the end zone while running a deep pass pattern. Oakland's creative usage of their running backs extended to Michael Bush, who completed a halfback option pass on a third down play that resulted in a first down.
Oakland's passing game was very efficient, as JaMarcus Russell completed his first nine passes for 148 yards, and ended the day with just one incompletion. Russell showcased his powerful arm several times, including deep passes to Ashley Lelie and some shorter passes where he zipped the ball quickly to his intended receivers. He targeted Lelie the most, and the two connected on all of their pass plays. Russell looked for Lelie and Zach Miller when he needed to make big plays in the passing game. Miller came close to scoring by taking an intermediate pass and running well after the catch before being stopped three yards from the end zone.
The Raiders ran 16 plays in the red zone on four possessions, and came away with one field goal and three second half touchdowns. They ran the ball 13 times, with Fargas having nine of those carries. While he ran hard in the red zone, he did not gain many yards. McFadden had three carries, and scored twice, showing good speed to the outside on two of those runs and good straight-ahead power on his third run. Russell targeted McFadden once in the red zone, and Lelie twice. Both passes to Lelie were in the end zone, the first one being too high and the second pass a laser that Lelie caught while leaping up above his defenders.
| Denver Broncos |
The Broncos moved the ball fairly efficiently in the first half, but were undone by miscues such as missed field goals at the end of drives and a lost fumble on another drive inside the Raiders' seven yard line. Denver could not get going offensively in the second half, in some part due to Oakland's defense as well as inconsistent play offensively. Jay Cutler epitomized their play in the second half, as he was more erratic than good. Of his incompletions, he missed his intended receiver nine times, and had six other passes deflected by Oakland defenders. While Cutler had one official interception, he could have been credited with as many as three, with one being overturned due to a penalty on the defender who caught the pass, and another defender dropping a ball that was thrown directly at him. When he needed big plays, he looked for Brandon Marshall and Brandon Stokley. Stokley's first four receptions were all for first downs, and Marshall made some big catches and ran well after catching some of the passes thrown his way. However, of the eight combined targets they had in the second half, five were incompletions.
Peyton Hillis received the bulk of Denver's rushing attempts, and ran hard directly at the defense, and displayed good power. He tended to take on defenders, and managed to gain some yards after absorbing the initial hits from the Raiders' defenders. Hillis had eight runs of four or more yards, including two of more than ten yards, but also had nine carries where he gained three yards or less, including three for losses. He did not show any elusiveness, but when he was able to get a head of steam going forward, usually gained positive yards by using his power. While he scored Denver's only touchdown, Hillis also lost a fumble in the red zone. Tatum Bell had a very limited role in relief of Hillis.
The Broncos ran five plays on two red zone possessions, losing a fumble on one of those possessions and scoring a touchdown on the other. Three of the red zone plays were running plays, with Hillis having two of them, including a touchdown run, and Eddie Royal running a reverse to account for the other. Cutler threw two red zone passes, one to Tony Scheffler that was too high in the end zone, and a short pass to Hillis.
What you ought to know
| QB JaMarcus Russell, Pass: 10 - 11 - 152 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - 3 - 0 |
Russell was very efficient and accurate, and made excellent decisions when passing. While he only threw 11 passes, half of them were either intermediate or deep. Russell only had one incompletion, and as such did not give the Broncos' fans much opportunity to issue their "INCOMPLETE" chant, as they are wont to do when a quarterback throws an incomplete pass. Russell focused most of his passes to Ashley Lelie and Zach Miller, targeting them seven times combined. He utilized them on a variety of routes, and threw the ball in places where only they could make the catch. Several of his passes were thrown with great velocity but with good timing as well, as his receivers did not have to make many adjustments as the ball arrived, and as a result, were usually able to gain some yards after securing the catch.
| RB Justin Fargas, Rush: 24 - 107 - 0, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (1 targets) |
Fargas ran hard every time he had the ball. He struggled to gain yards in the first half, but was markedly more effective in the second half, routinely gaining positive yards after getting past the line of scrimmage. Fargas gained a lot of his yards running between the tackles, and although he did not score on any of his nine red zone carries, he contributed greatly to the Raiders' winning in Denver.
| RB Darren McFadden, Rush: 10 - 38 - 2, Rec: 2 - 14 - 0 (4 targets) |
McFadden was used more in the second half, and was a significant contributor in a variety of ways. He took direct snaps twice in Oakland's version of the wildcat package, lined up as a receiver on several occasions and ran a variety of routes, and scored two touchdowns. McFadden ran easily and seemed to be recovered from the foot injury that has nagged him most of the season. He showed his speed several times, both as a runner going wide on a short yardage goal line play and as a receiver, and elusiveness and power on some other short-yardage runs.
| RB Michael Bush, Pass: 1 - 1 - 8 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 0 - 0 |
Bush's biggest impact came on a halfback option play where he threw a pass to Zach Miller that was caught for a first down on a third down play.
| WR Ashley Lelie, Rec: 4 - 92 - 1 (4 targets) |
Lelie and Russell were in sync throughout the game. Lelie used his speed to get open on intermediate and deep routes. His only short route came on a pass he caught for a touchdown where he had to leap between two defenders while timing the jump to catch a Russell fastball of a pass.
| WR Ronald Curry, Rush: 1 - 1 - 0 |
Curry was not targeted, and his rushing attempt came when he lined up as the quarterback and ran outside with the option to pass or run.
| WR Johnnie Lee Higgins, Rush: 1 - 9 - 0 |
Higgins had a significant impact on the game although he was not targeted, returning a punt for a touchdown. He also added a reverse.
| TE Zach Miller, Rec: 3 - 41 - 0 (3 targets) |
Miller made some very good plays when thrown the ball. He made a great leaping, one handed catch of a pass from Michael Bush for a first down on a third down play, and took an intermediate pass and ran past several defenders for a 30 yard gain before being tackled three yards from the end zone.
| TE Tony Stewart, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (2 targets) |
Stewart was used mostly for his blocking, and was the intended target on Russell's only incompletion, but was double-covered on the play.
| PK Sebastian Janikowski 1 - 1 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points |
Janikowski made all four of his point after attempts and his only field goal attempt, which was from 26 yards.
| OAK Rush Defense |
Oakland's defense performed inconsistently against the Broncos' running game. At times they made excellent plays behind the line of scrimmage, as well as recovering a fumble on a running play. However, Peyton Hillis ran for seven or more yards on 25 percent of his carries and added a rushing touchdown, while averaging 4.35 yards per carry.
| OAK Pass Defense |
The Raiders did an effective job of applying pressure to Cutler. Although they did not record a sack, they forced him to rush several of his throws. In addition, Oakland's defenders played excellent coverage, deflecting several of Cutler's passes. They recorded one interception, but had another one called back due to a penalty on the player who intercepted the ball, and on another play, the defender dropped the ball. The official interception was timely in that it came in the fourth quarter and led to a touchdown by the offense for the final score.
| QB Jay Cutler, Pass: 16 - 37 - 204 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 4 - 24 - 0 |
Cutler could not get into a consistent rhythm during the game. At times he played well, showing good mobility to escape the pass rush and make plays on the run, as well as making strong accurate throws from the pocket. However, that was not the norm, and he missed open receivers at times and had several other passes deflected by Oakland's defenders. After Denver fell behind by two touchdowns, they were forced to rely more on the passing game and Cutler was unable to shoulder the offensive load in this game.
| RB Peyton Hillis, Rush: 17 - 74 - 1, Rec: 2 - 22 - 0 (3 targets) |
Hillis ran with good power and great determination. While he did not show much elusiveness or breakaway speed, he ran hard every time he had the ball and used his power to successfully fight for additional yards after contact. Hillis was used mostly on running plays between the tackles and as an outlet receiver when involved in the passing game.
| RB Tatum Bell, Rush: 6 - 14 - 0, Rec: 1 - 0 - 0 (1 targets) |
Bell did not contribute much as the backup running back, averaging just over 2.0 yards per rushing attempt.
| WR Brandon Stokley, Rec: 5 - 44 - 0 (6 targets) |
Stokley caught every pass that was thrown near him, and ran mostly short routes very well, getting open in traffic frequently. His first four catches gave his team a first down.
| WR Brandon Marshall, Rec: 4 - 84 - 0 (11 targets) |
Marshall mirrored his quarterback in terms of effectiveness. He was overthrown four times after getting open, and on other occasions did not get separation on his defenders, which enabled them to deflect some other passes intended for him. At other times he used his size and running after the catch ability to get open and gain yards after the catch, resulting in a healthy 21 yards per reception average.
| WR Eddie Royal, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0, Rec: 2 - 14 - 0 (8 targets) |
Royal ran a variety of routes, but was victimized by being overthrown at times and good play by his defenders at other times. He managed to get open deep on a play where he dropped the ball with no defender in front of him, and a chance for a long touchdown run.
| WR Darrell Jackson, Rec: 1 - 28 - 0 (2 targets) |
Jackson's lone reception was a big play that at first was ruled a 64 yard play, but after review, it was determined he was down by contact after hauling in a 28 yard pass.
| TE Tony Scheffler, Rec: 1 - 12 - 0 (5 targets) |
Scheffler only caught one pass, but was targeted twice in the end zone, with both passes being too high. He was the intended target on Cutler's interception as the ball was underthrown.
| TE Daniel Graham (1 targets) |
Graham's involvement in the passing game was minimal.
| PK Matt Prater 1 - 3 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 4 points |
Prater made his only point after attempt and made one of three field goal attempts. He made one from 44 yards and missed from 47 and 43 yards, one of them wide right and the other wide left.
| DEN Rush Defense |
Denver's rush defense was sound in the first half, but could not contain the Raiders in the second half. They were pushed off the line of scrimmage, and their linebackers and secondary had to make tackles after Oakland's running backs had gained significant yards. The Broncos gave up 4.26 yards per carry to Fargas and McFadden and two rushing touchdowns. Even though they knew the Raiders were focusing on the run after their lead grew to two touchdowns, Denver could not stop them and get the ball back for their offense.
| DEN Pass Defense |
The Broncos' pass defense was not tested often, as Russell only threw 11 passes. However, they gave up ten completions, and were unable to disrupt the timing between Russell and his receivers. Among the ten completions was a touchdown pass where the Oakland receiver out jumped the Broncos' secondary to make the catch.
