Well week 1 is in the books, and it could have gone a bit better but let’s take a look at the Broncos vs. Raiders match-up.
Well, we unfortunately handed the Raiders their 7th straight victory over us. We have also learned that 16 is definitely not our lucky number. Even though we lost I liked what I saw for the most part. Russell Wilson looked much better this game than he did last season. Javonte Williams appears to have healed nicely he made the most out of his limited touches. Newly acquired RB Samaje Perine also made the most out of his touches. The offensive line looked much better and did a good job keeping Wilson upright. The Broncos also had no turnovers which is also a plus. The defense did a decent job against the Raiders other than the pass rush. A front 7 with Frank Clark, Randy Gregory, Baron Browning, and Nik Bonitto you would expect something out of them, but sadly we got 0 sacks and not a lot of pressure on Raiders QB Jimmy Garoppolo. Also Broncos 2nd year CB Damarri Mathis didn’t shin the way we were hoping giving up some big plays including a TD to The Raiders’ newly acquired WR Jakobi Meyers.
It also appears that a few of our moves before the season are already starting to backfire. After trading Albert Okwuegbunam to the Eagles, TE Greg Dulcich ended up getting injured and is expected to miss a few weeks. Our backup TEs? Well, mostly blocking TEs and none of them are particularly good at receiving..
Also, Broncos new K Wil Lutz struggled in his Broncos debut missing an extra point and a game-winning FG. While former Broncos K Brandon McManus drilled everything in his Jaguars debut.
Final score 16-17
Thoughts on this?
I feel like I’ve said this a lot lately, but I wouldn’t worry too much atm We have a new HC and a new system we are trying to work out. Give it some time to develop before we jump ship. I already feel like I see some improvements from last year. I think we will be alright this season. It’s called growing pain for a reason…it kinda hurts but the upside is the team is growing.
In week 2 we face off against a stronger Washington defense so we will get to see how the team handles a bigger challenge.
Darian Thompson