Las Vegas continued to find life within its defense when a pass bobbled out of the arms of Franklin landing into Kelly’s hands for his second interception of the game.
“Honestly I give credit to PG [Patrick Graham] and the players around me,” Kelly said on *Raiders Gameday*. “Tyree [Wilson] came up to me, he almost got the sack on Bo [Nix] on that deep one and was able to rush the throw and I was just in position to make the play. On the other one Lonnie [Johnson] and [Jeremy] Chinn were in the window and made it a tough catch for the receiver and I was just there to make a play.
“PG schemed this up so well and the players around me played really great, so it just allowed me to make plays.”
With a chance to tie the game with 3:13 left in regulation, Daniel Carlson missed wide right on a 48-yard field goal. Denver picked up three first downs to run the clock out, and pick up their seventh consecutive victory.
In a game where complementary football wasn’t on display, the Raiders defense is what gave them a chance to win. Along with Kelly’s two interceptions, the unit held the Broncos offense to 5-of-15 on third down and Nix to a season-low 150 passing yards and 54.2 passer rating.
While no moral victories comes from a third straight loss, Carroll is still pleased with the effort he saw from his team.
“The way that they competed was just what we’re hoping for, just what we’re looking for,” the head coach emphasized. “Could we not clip a guy? Could we not hold a guy? Yeah. Could we not pick a guy? Yeah. There’s so many things we could get better at but the fight is in this dog now. Ain’t no doubt about it. I couldn’t wait to tell them how proud I was at the way they competed.”
Now the Raiders hope they can get healthy before their Monday Night Football contest against the Dallas Cowboys. Time will tell if they learn from the mistakes that could’ve landed them a victory in Mile High Stadium.