Twitter recap of Broncos’ 16-15 win over Raiders

The Broncos defeated the Raiders in Week 17 of the 2019 NFL season. Here’s a Twitter recap of the game.

On a cold day at Empower Field at Mile High, the Denver Broncos ended the season by gutting out in the final seconds a 16-15 win over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday. The Broncos finished the season with a winning home record for the first time since 2016 and rookie quarterback Drew Lock had a 4-1 record as a starter. Phillip Lindsay became the first undrafted NFL running back to rush for at least 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons.

Here is a Twitter recap of Broncos’ victory.

The game was scoreless in the first quarter. But the Broncos might have built a good drive with its first possession, if officials had called Benson Mayowa for defensive interference on a pass by Lock to receiver Courtland Sutton. Raiders kicker Daniel Carson missed a 55-yard field goal attempt.

At 14:03 in the second quarter, Carlson made a 23-yard field goal.  Sutton later caught a 19-yard pass from Lock to help set up the Broncos first score.

Kicker Brandon McManus made a 43-yard field goal to tie the game at 8:23 in the second quarter.

Even though the Broncos gave up a lot of yards to the Raiders’ offense led by quarterback Derek Carr, the defense was stout in the red zone.

Lock threw a one-yard touchdown pass to tight end Andrew Beck with 0:43 remaining in the second quarter. With McManus making the extra point, the Broncos led the Raiders 10-3 at halftime.

At 4:37 in the third quarter, McManus made a 49-yard field goal. Then McManus connected for a 51-yard field goal, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, extending the Broncos’ lead to 16-3.

For nearly the whole game the Raiders could not score a touchdown, though the team scored two more field goals in the second half, the later one after recovering a fumble by Lock. As the game neared the end, the Broncos led 16-9.

Receiver DaeSean Hamilton picked up the slack after Sutton was injured. Hamilton finished with five catches for 65 yards.

Lindsay had 18 rushes for 58 yards in the game and 1,011 yards for the season.

Linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu had a strong game, including a sack of Carr.

Left tackle Garett Bolles continued his struggles. But the offensive line allowed only two sacks of Lock.

Toward the end of the game, a young person ran on the playing field. He was stopped by a security guard who injured himself in the process.

Linebacker Von Miller closed his season with this eighth sack.

After stopping the Raiders in five previous red-zone trips, the Broncos’ defense finally yielded a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, when Carr threw a three-yard pass to receiver Hunter Renfrow. Behind one point, Raiders coach Jon Gruden called for a two-point conversion. With seven seconds left, the defensive tackle Shelby Harris batted down Carr’s attempted pass to Renfrow.

Maintaining the slim lead as time expired, the Broncos won their seventh of their last 12 games.

Lock went 17-of-28 for 177 yards and one touchdown, with a 90.9 passer rating and 48.1 quarterback rating.

With the season’s close, veteran cornerback Chris Harris will become a free agent. He likely played his last game as a Bronco.

The win over the Raiders caused to Broncos to move from 10 to 15 in the 2020 NFL draft order.

The Broncos ended the season on a winning trend, having found its starting quarterback in Lock. If he becomes the durable franchise leader to succeed Peyton Manning, then the team has a good chance of a winning season next year and a return to the playoffs.

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