Raiders lose AFC West, another QB in 24-6 loss to Broncos

DENVER - With starting quarterback and MVP candidate Derek Carr shelved due to injury, the Raiders might have expected their passing game to take a step backward.

What they didn’t expect was a flat running game, and a half-hearted defensive effort and a deluge of penalties in one of the most important games of the year. The sum was a 24-6 loss at Sports Authority Field on Sunday, in a game that seemingly meant everything to the Raiders and nothing to the Broncos.

The outcome here, coupled with the Chiefs’ victory at San Diego, knocked the Raiders out of first place in the AFC West. They still haven’t won a division title since 2002. If they had, they would now enjoy a week off, followed by a home game to begin the postseason. As it is, the Raiders will take their 12-4 record to Houston on Saturday for a wild-card game. And if they don’t improve considerably on Sunday’s performance, they’ll be one-and-done.

Losing so convincingly to Denver made it clear that while Carr’s broken fibula occurred a week earlier, it’s still causing his team some pain.

“I think you leave yourself open to those kinds of questions, for sure,” Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said. “I’m not looking for alibis. We’re big boys. We can take it like men.”

Alibis offer no help, but how about explanations? The Broncos (9-7) took the opening kickoff and breezed along on an 84-yard touchdown drive to begin the game, and never relinquished the lead. The home team wound up with 349 yards to the Raiders’ 221, and 18 first downs to Oakland’s 11.

Denver coach Gary Kubiak had said he would rotate his two young quarterbacks, Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch, but wound up going with Siemian for the entire game when he started clicking. Siemian wound up completing 17 of 27 passes for 206 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception.

The Raiders, meanwhile, were forced to split time between two of their own quarterbacks. Backup Matt McGloin got the first-team repetitions in Carr’s absence and started his first game since 2013. But he was knocked out of the game at 6:27 of the second quarter when Denver defensive end Jared Crick burst up the middle and blasted McGloin in the head on an incomplete pass, a hit that drew a 15-yard penalty.

McGloin remained in the game for the rest of that possession. But trainers began to work on his neck and left shoulder when he went to the sideline. And when the Raiders got the ball back, rookie Connor Cook was under center for the first time this season.

“I couldn’t throw in my normal motion,” McGloin said afterward. “Got to be in there bright and early (today), get treatment and get healthy.”

Unfortunately, neither Oakland quarterback distinguished himself. McGloin completed 6 of 11 passes for a paltry 21 yards. He overthrew several receivers, including the wide-open Amari Cooper on a deep route that had a chance to go the distance. McGloin said after the game that he and Cooper miscommunicated on the play; Cooper thought McGloin was hit as he threw, which affected the flight of the ball.

In any case, McGloin did nothing to make Raiders fans believe he can lead the team to victory in Houston.

Cook showed more promise. A fourth-round draft pick from Michigan State, he threw some nice balls. The best was a floating touch pass to Cooper with the Raiders trailing 24-0 late in the third quarter; the receiver caught it in stride over cornerback Chris Harris, managed to keep his feet inbounds and spun to touch the left flag with the football, giving Oakland its only points of the day.

But Cook had plenty of shaky moments, too. The Raiders’ first possession of the second half ended when he lost the football after getting stripped by linebacker Shane Ray. And their last two possessions of the game sputtered out with an interception that Cook threw to safety Justin Simmons, and a fumble by the quarterback on a fourth-down play.

And before you attribute this loss entirely to Carr’s injury, remember that he isn’t responsible for tackling or covering anybody. The Raiders defense regressed against the Broncos, giving up 24 points before the middle of the third quarter.

“First half, we just weren’t playing assignment football,” edge rusher Bruce Irvin said. “They ran everything we went over the whole week and we didn’t execute. They gashed us.”

The Broncos ran for a healthy 143 yards, and Siemian wasn’t sacked once.

Del Rio pointed to two “big momentum plays” that hurt the Raiders in the second quarter. The first was a 64-yard run by Justin Forsett, the Cal product, on which the defense didn’t align properly; that led to a field goal that pushed the Denver lead to 10-0. The second play was a screen pass on third-and-18 that running back Devontae Booker turned into a 43-yard touchdown and a 17-0 advantage; Booker wasn’t even touched by a defender on his way to the end zone.

Throw in 13 penalties for 125 yards and it was an altogether dreadful game for the Raiders, when they desperately needed a strong one.

It wasn’t all good news for the Broncos, either.

They regained a measure of pride after missing the playoffs for the first time for 2010. But in the postgame locker room, Kubiak informed his players that he was leaving the team for health reasons, less than a year after he led Denver to a Super Bowl victory.

As for the Raiders, they must find a way to make the final game of the 2016 regular season a learning experience, and not a harbinger of doom. After the game, Del Rio was already looking ahead.

“You get what you earn,” the coach said. “We wanted the division, and we didn’t earn that. But we earned the playoffs.”

Even if they will begin a week earlier than hoped.