3 takeaways from Raiders’ streak-snapping loss to Broncos

DENVER — Here are three takeaways from the Raiders’ 34-18 loss to the Broncos on Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High:

1. What happened?

Everything was going so well for the Raiders. Until it wasn’t.

Quarterback Gardner Minshew completed his first nine passing attempts for 115 yards and a touchdown. Then, with the Raiders facing a first-and-goal from the 5-yard line, he floated a throw too high for rookie tight end Brock Bowers into the end zone.

Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II snagged the football and ran 100 yards down the sideline for a touchdown.

The Raiders, instead of building on their 10-3 lead, found themselves in a tie game despite dominating the first 20 minutes of action.

The Broncos seized control from there. They ended up scoring 34 unanswered points, as Minshew completed just three of his final eight passing attempts and threw another interception.

Backup quarterback Aidan O’Connell was inserted into the game in the third quarter and could not stop the bleeding. The Raiders went three-and-out his first drive and O’Connell threw an interception his second.

Minshew’s first interception was like a haymaker from a heavyweight. The Raiders never recovered.

2. One star returns, another exits

The Raiders were thrilled to have star defensive end Maxx Crosby back Sunday after he missed the first game of his career last week due to a high-ankle sprain.

Crosby, who practiced on a limited basis Friday, looked good for most of the game.

The 27-year-old had a pair of sacks and three tackles despite not looking fully healthy. He certainly had more of an impact than he did during the Raiders’ 36-22 loss to Carolina on Sept. 22, when he was clearly playing through pain.

It wasn’t all good news on the injury front, however.

Defensive tackle Christian Wilkins left Sunday’s game late in the first half with a foot injury and didn’t return. He was a disruptive force before that, recording five tackles and a sack.

The Raiders’ defense struggled after Wilkins left the game.

3. Streak snapped

The Raiders had won eight straight against the Broncos before Sunday’s game. They were undefeated against their AFC West rivals since moving to Las Vegas.

That run of domination is over.

The winning streak featured all different kind of victories. It started with a 37-12 blowout in the first-ever meeting between the two teams at Allegiant Stadium on Nov. 15, 2020. The Raiders won the second matchup that season when running back Josh Jacobs scored a touchdown in the final minute and quarterback Derek Carr hit tight end Darren Waller for a game-winning 2-point conversion.

The team earned another wild win Nov. 20, 2022. Kicker Daniel Carlson tied the game with a field goal in the final minute and then Carr hit wide receiver Davante Adams for a 35-yard touchdown in overtime.

The two meetings between the teams last season were also memorable. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo earned a 17-16 win in his Raiders debut in Denver on Sept. 10, 2023, hitting wide receiver Jakobi Meyers midway through the fourth quarter for what proved to be the game-winning score.

The season then ended with a 27-14 win at Allegiant Stadium on Jan. 7 that ended with fans chanting for then-interim coach Antonio Pierce, who earned the full-time job less than two weeks later.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.