LAS VEGAS — Concerning as it was for the Denver defense to play without standout lineman Zach Allen, it could have been worse.
Broncos' safety Brandon Jones fell ill Saturday and was downgraded to "questionable" for the game here Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Jones not only played, his interception off a Gardner Minshew II pass, and 37-yard return, set up the Broncos' offense on the Raiders' 18 yard line.
The pick was a game changer.
Two plays later, Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix threw a 50-50 ball to the deep right corner of the end zone. When receiver Courtland Sutton is on the other end of such a pass, the odds are far better than 50-50. Sutton reached up to snag the ball with his two strong hands and away from a defender for the touchdown.
A strong Bronco fan presence at roof-covered, grass-grounded Allegiant Stadium roared its approval.
Sutton caught another touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter and five Wil Lutz field goals -- from 38, 53, 54, 45 and 33 yards out -- gave the Broncos a 29-19 victory against the determined Raiders in this AFC West rivalry game.
The Broncos improved to 7-5 and their lead to 1 1/2 games for the No. 7 and final AFC playoff spot. Las Vegas has lost seven in a row and is now 2-9.
With the Indianapolis Colts dropping to 5-7 after losing Sunday to Detroit, the Broncos top competitor for the No. 7 playoff seed is now the Miami Dolphins, who won their third in a row to move to 5-6. It will be difficult for the Dolphins to catch the Broncos, though. Denver plays 3-8 Cleveland next Monday night at Empower Field at Mile High before breaking for a bye.
The Broncos needed Lutz's big day to offset the four field goals made by the Raiders' and Colorado Springs' native Daniel Carlson.
Special teams are largely ignored unless something big happens good or bad, one way or the other.
The first-half spotlight shined a harsh light on Broncos’ special teams as the home-team Raiders used a 59-yard kickoff return to set up a touchdown and a 34-yard faked punt pass completion to set up a field goal.
The Raiders held a surprising, but explainable, 13-9 lead on the Broncos at halftime.
Just past one minute into the second quarter, the Raiders went up 7-3. The Broncos scored late in the first quarter on a Lutz 38-yard field goal, but the Raiders answered with a 59-yard kickoff return by Dylan Luebe, giving Las Vegas quarterback Gardner Minshew II starting field position at the Denver 40.
Eventually, Minshew caught Broncos outside linebacker Jonah Elliss dropping back into coverage on two plays in the red zone. Minshew hit Michael Mayer for 9 yards on one play and Ameer Abdullah for a 6-yard touchdown on the other.
Nix answered nicely with a couple completions to fellow rookie Devaughn Vele but the drive stalled with a sack and Lutz came through with a 53-yard field goal, narrowing the score to 7-6.
The Denver defense seemed to answer with a three-and-out, but the rules give a team four downs to move the chains. The Raiders used it by having punter AJ Cole shotput a pass to Divine Deablo, who rumbled 34 yards for a first down at the Broncos’ 30.
Carlson nailed a 34-yard field goal with 3:48 remaining in the first half to give the Raiders a 10-6 lead.
Broncos’ special teams did come through with their field goal unit as Lutz connected from 54 yards with 53 seconds left in the half. Lutz is 13 of 13 on kicks since the dreaded block in Kansas City – 6 of 6 on field goals; 7 of 7 on extra points.
Nix was 25 of 42 for 273 yards and two touchdowns while Minshew was 25 of 42 for 230 yards, a touchdown and an interception before he was knocked out of the game while taking a sack from Denver linebackers Jonathon Cooper and Cody Barton. Desmond Ridder came in and was stripped sacked by Nik Bonitto -- his 10th of the season -- and the fumble recovery allowed the Broncos to put the game away with Lutz's fifth goal, this one from 33.
Zach Allen inactive
There are injuries and there are late-in-the-week injuries. Allen, arguably the most impactful player this season on the league’s No. 3-ranked unit, suffered a heel injury Friday, presumably in practice. Allen was held out of the game Sunday against the Raiders.
Malcolm Roach, who is normally a backup nose tackle, started in Allen’s place at defensive end while another defensive end, Eyioma Uwazurike, was active for just his third game this season. Uwazurike picked up the first sack of his career and another quarterback hit on Ridder.
Bronco Bits
The Broncos had two players – running back Jaleel McLaughlin, who had two carries for 29 yards -- and cornerback Riley Moss -- go down for extended periods because of injury. Both walked off the field under their own power. McLaughlin returned in the second half while veteran Levi Wallace filled in for Moss at left cornerback. …
Four the third consecutive game, the Broncos had a new leading rusher. It was McLaughlin this time with 44 yards off seven carries. ...
Sutton was the Broncos' top receiver with 8 catches for 97 yards and two touchdowns. Vele, the dependable first-down machine, had six catches for 80 yards. Marvin Mims II had another all-around game with three catches for 44 yards, plus a 22-yard punt return.
Broncos’ seventh-round rookie guard-center Nick Gargiulo was elevated from the practice squad Saturday, but then was among the inactives for the game.
