The game continued to take an unfortunate turn for Smith, as he injured his right hand on their first possession of the second half. Following a Raiders three-and-out, Denver once again methodically drove the ball down the field for 91 yards, taking 9:13 off the game clock in the process. Rookie running back RJ Harvey pushed through at the goal line to give Denver a 21-7 lead.
As Smith continued to push through the pain, he was ultimately taken out the game to start the fourth quarter after sustaining a right shoulder injury.
“From what I heard he got his hand cut and it was bleeding a lot,” Pete Carroll said of Smith’s health status. “And so, they just had to stop the bleeding. He got kicked or scraped or something like that. That’s what I heard, I didn’t see that. But his shoulder – he got hit pretty good.”
Kenny Pickett came into the game in place of Smith and on fourth-and-goal, tried threading the ball in the end zone to Bowers, but it resulted in a turnover on downs.
Another lengthy 10-minute drive for the Broncos sealed the deal when Will Lutz made a 23-yard field goal. The Raiders put another 10 points on the board late in the game as Pickett found Shedrick Jackson for a 25-yard touchdown, which also happened to be the first catch of Jackson’s career. Daniel Carlson made a 46-yard field goal as the clock expired in regulation to make it a one-score defeat.
Of the players who still had impressive showings, linebacker Devin White recorded 19 total tackles and rookie Jack Bech posted a career-high six catches for 50 yards.
“Our guys are fighting,” Caroll said postgame. “They’re trying to keep this thing going, trying to get ourselves a chance to win a game but there’s just a couple aspects of it that we’re not able to hold up. We’ve just got to keep working.
“We know what we’re playing for, we’re playing for our pride, to do something good and play for the guys across from you.”