After falling behind 10-0 early, the Denver Broncos stormed back to defeat the Las Vegas Raiders 34-18 at home in Week 5 of the 2024 NFL season on Sunday. With that victory, Denver snapped an eight-game losing streak to Las Vegas that dated back to 2019.
The Raiders opened the scoring when quarterback Gardner Minshew connected with tight end Brock Bowers for a 57-yard touchdown on the game’s opening drive. Broncos safety P.J. Locke misjudged the ball in man coverage and Bowers had an easy run for a score after making the catch.
Following a Denver punt, Las Vegas added a field goal to make it 10-0 late in the first quarter. The Broncos matched that score with a 51-yard field goal from Wil Lutz to cut the deficit to 10-3.
On the next drive, cornerback Pat Surtain intercepted a pass on the edge of the end zone and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 10-10 midway through the second quarter.
Denver later got the ball back with 27 seconds until halftime and quarterback Bo Nix led a five-play, 23-yard drive to step up another Lutz field goal that gave the Broncos a 13-10 lead going into the break.
In the third quarter, Nix threw a four-yard touchdown pass to running back Jaleel McLaughlin to extend the lead to 20-10. On the next series, Denver cornerback Riley Moss intercepted a Minshew pass for a second takeaway.
Nix later scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak to make it 27-10. Following another Surtain interception, Nix threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Josh Reynolds to extend the lead to 34-10.
Raiders running back Ameer Abdullah scored on a one-yard run later in the fourth quarter to make it 34-18 following a successful two-point conversion. The Raiders failed to score again and the Broncos later ran out the clock to secure a convincing win.
Nix had a heated moment with coach Sean Payton in the third quarter, but that didn’t stop the rookie from having the best game of his career. Nix threw two touchdown passes and rushed for a score, marking the first multi-touchdown game of his young career.
On the injury front, Broncos right tackle Alex Palczewski suffered an ankle injury in the third quarter and was replaced by Matt Peart. Denver center Luke Wattenberg also suffered an ankle injury in the second half.
Up next for the Broncos is another home game against the Los Angeles Chargers (2-2) in Week 6.
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