Anyone holding a Denver Broncos -7.5 ticket must’ve been counting their money late in Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Wil Lutz’s 23-yard field goal gave the Broncos a 24-7 lead with 3 minutes, 56 seconds left. The Raiders had punted three times and turned it over on downs twice in their five previous drives, and Las Vegas quarterback Geno Smith had already exited with a shoulder injury at the start of the fourth quarter. The Denver cover seemingly was in the bag.
But the Raiders, whose season went south weeks ago and who are well in the running for the No. 1 pick in next year’s NFL Draft, seemingly found a spark with backup quarterback Kenny Pickett leading the charge in those allegedly meaningless final minutes. Pickett found wide receiver Jack Bech twice, tight end Brock Bowers once for a 15-yard gain and then, with 2:17 remaining, wideout Shedrick Jackson over the middle for a 25-yard touchdown. Jackson’s first and only career NFL reception made it 24-14.
Shedrick Jackson’s first NFL touch is a @Raiders TD!
DENvsLV on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/86qfwGNFm1
— NFL (@NFL) December 7, 2025
The Raiders, whose ensuing onside kick attempt fell flat, still had all three timeouts and the two-minute warning remaining, but all the Broncos needed to do was pick up a first down or two to close out the cover. They got one, but on fourth-and-4 from the Raiders’ 28-yard line, running back RJ Harvey was stopped for no gain.
Las Vegas got the ball back with 58 seconds left, and after a 26-yard pass to Tyler Lockett and a clock-stopping delay-of-game penalty on the Broncos, the Raiders sent Daniel Carlson onto the field to kick a field goal with five seconds left. Carlson’s 46-yard kick was good, but the clock expired during the kick.
The Broncos won 24-17. The Raiders covered the spread somehow.
BRUTAL back door cover by the Raiders for Broncos bettors…😬
A meaningless field goal as time expired to cover the +8.5 spread.pic.twitter.com/tWvg1texU2
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) December 8, 2025
Las Vegas is now 4-8-1 against the spread this season, and two of those covers came against the Broncos, who are now 2-7 against the spread when favored.
On Nov. 6, Denver scored a 10-7 win over Las Vegas, also failing to cover as 8.5-point favorites. That game — an unsightly affair that featured 22 penalties and an average of 3.6 yards per play — ended with Broncos quarterback Bo Nix taking a knee inside the Raiders’ 20.