LAS VEGAS – Bo Nix completed 31 of 38 passes and ran for a touchdown to lead the Denver Broncos to their 10th consecutive win, 24-17 over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
Nix threw for 212 yards in the win, while RJ Harvey added 75 yards and a touchdown on the ground on 17 carries for the Broncos (11-2), who controlled the ball for over 39 minutes.
Geno Smith of the Raiders completed 13 of 21 passes for 116 yards but left the game late in the third quarter with a right shoulder injury. Kenny Pickett came on in relief of Smith and completed 8 of 11 passes for 97 yards, including an impressive touchdown to wide receiver Shedrick Jackson, who was elevated from the practice squad for the game.
Devin White registered a career-best 19 tackles for the Raiders (2-11), who lost their seventh straight contest.
After setting the tone in the first half with a methodical opening drive, the Broncos did the same on their opening possession of the second half. Nix drove his offense 91 yards downfield in 14 plays, eating up 9:13 of the third quarter before Harvey punched it in from the 3 yards to put Denver up 21-7.
Denver’s Marvin Mims Jr. took an AJ Cole punt 48 yards to the end zone to put the Broncos ahead 14-7 with 6:29 remaining in the first half. Mims’ first career punt-return score represented yet another special teams collapse by the Raiders, on par with their struggles in that department all season, that led to ex-coordinator Tom McMahon being fired after the Raiders’ first loss to the Broncos in November.
Denver’s offense opened the game with a clinic of a touchdown drive, using 14 plays to go 81 yards downfield while eating nearly the first nine minutes of the first quarter. Nix completed 6 of 7 pass attempts on the drive and capped it off with an 8-yard scamper, giving the Broncos a 7-0 lead with 6:06 remaining in the frame after Wil Lutz’s extra point.
After allowing the Broncos to march down the field, it didn’t take Las Vegas too long to muster up its initial response. Smith led the Raiders on a 10-play, 70-yard drive of their own that used up the remaining 6:06 of the quarter. He found Brock Bowers for a 15-yard touchdown pass.
–Will Despart, Field Level Media
