Raiders offense falters as team falls to Broncos 37-6

Originally published on SBReport.net on Sept. 30, 2012

Carson Palmer and the Raiders offense were unable to get into the end zone, scoring just two field goals by kicker Sebastian Janikowski. 

Meanwhile, Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was able to do as he wished against a porous Raiders defense. Manning looked comfortable as he was able to complete 30 of his 38 pass attempts for 338 yards and three touchdowns. 

After winning the coin toss, the Raiders deferred to the Broncos and it didn't take long for Manning to orchestrate an 11-play, 80-yard drive for a touchdown. 

The Raiders defense was unable to get off the field on third down on the drive, something that would become a problem as the game continued. Manning and the Broncos offense were able to get the first down 10 of 16 third down attempts. 

After completing an eight-yard pass to his tight end Jacob Tamme for a first down on a fourth-and-one, Manning found his other tight end Joel Dreesen for a 22-yard touchdown. 

The Broncos would never give up the lead, though they would only hold a 10-6 lead despite out gaining the Raiders by over 100 yards in first half. 

The Raider had a chance to tie up the game heading into halftime but were unable to complete a third-and-three nor get into the endzone from the Denver six-yard line. The Raiders were forced to settle for Janikowski's second field goal of the day and head into the locker room with a four-point deficit at halftime. 

While the Broncos were able to complete third downs, the Raiders were not. Palmer and the Raiders offense finished with just one third-down conversion on 12 attempts. 

Manning and the offense didn't slow down in the second half as the Broncos out scored the Raiders 27-0 in the second half, including three touchdowns in the third quarter. 

On the other side of the ball, the Raiders still couldn't get anything going in the third quarter as they ran just 12 offensive plays for a total of -1 yards for the entire quarter. 

Much of the offensive woes can be attributed to the inability of getting Darren McFadden and the rushing game going. After rushing for a season-high 113 yards against the Steelers last week, McFadden was unable to find running room against the Broncos defense. McFadden finished with just 34 yards on 13 carries, just 2.6 yards per carry. 

Palmer also struggled with a receiving corps that is banged up with injuries. With Denarius Moorw and Derek Hagan starting, Palmer finished the game just 19-34 for 202 yards and no touchdowns. He was able to avoid any interceptions though. 

Willis McGahee was able to gash the Raiders defense for 112 yards on just 19 carries, averaging 5.9 yards per carry. 

The Raiders have now had two games where they defended the rush well, as well as two games where they held their opposing rushing attack to under 100 yards. The Raiders will need to shore up their rush defense and be more consistent as the season progresses. 

While it would have been to head into next week's bye at the .500 mark, head coach Dennis Allen and the Raiders will have to wait until they take on the Atlanta Falcons in week five to attempt to get their second win of the season. 

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