Well, the Denver Broncos won. If that is your takeaway from the Broncos‘ 10-7 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, we’re happy for you.

Both teams were coming off a game on Sunday to play on Thursday, and that is exactly what it looked like. Both offenses had significant struggles, the special teams were… there, and Denver’s defense pulled out a masterpiece worthy of being hung in the Met.

We take a look at the studs and duds from the Broncos‘ win.

Stud: Dondrea Tillman

For his second home game in a row, Tillman intercepted a pass, and had a great return. Tillman added three total tackles to his interception. Tillman has played a valuable role as a rotational outside linebacker behind starters Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper.

Dud: Special teams

Special it was not. For the first time since the preseason, rookie punter Jeremy Crawshaw had a terrible night, shanking several punts. Crawshaw came on the field seven times with punts of 30, 36, 38, 39, 45, 51 and 54 yards. Wil Lutz missed a field goal, and the one bright spot was a blocked punt by JL Skinner. There was swirling wind, so that could have affected Crawshaw and Lutz, but there were several unforced miscues, such as having a punt going off the inside ankle bone. It was especially ugly when compared to Raiders punter AJ Cole pinning Denver twice inside the 1-yard line.

Dud: Offense

Besides the final drive and the touchdown drive in the second quarter, the Broncos sputtered on offense. Seven punts, a missed field goal and two interceptions tell a woeful tale of inadequacy. The first interception thrown by Bo Nix was his fault, on a jump ball to Troy Franklin. The second pick was a straight-up botched ball by Franklin, as the ball went off his hands and chest and up into the Colorado sky. And perhaps the most fitting, and a microcosm of the night’s events, after Skinner blocked the punt, Denver was at the Raider 12. Three plays netted -2 yards, but it did produce the go-ahead points. On the bright side, Nix extended his streak of games with a touchdown pass to 18.

Stud: Defense

The Denver defense looked as good as any unit, locking up star Raiders Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers to minimal damage throughout the game. The offense gave the ball right back to Vegas several times, and the defense stepped up and stopped them in their tracks. The defense had a resurgent night, totaling six sacks to bring their takedown tracker to 46, on pace to break the NFL record of the 1985 Chicago Bears. Nik Bonitto had 1.5 sacks to lead the team, and is nearly in double-digit sacks for the second straight season.

Dud: Broncos fans

Yes, Thursday night was hard to watch. Yes, we all endured it. But man, it gets exhausting listening to Bronco fans boo on every failed drive. It happens to the best teams! Booing punters, booing the offense and turning what could have been a great night to showcase Denver and its amazing fans into a game people turned off at halftime. What a flop. Typically, teams feed off energy. It felt low-energy at times, and the team responded in kind.

You can be upset; we know what this team is capable of when it is at its best. We’ve seen it in action! But remember, as a fan, the good comes with the bad, and it evens itself out. Suck it up, and enjoy the win. Go get yourself a free King Soopers donut today to make yourself feel better. Denver is 8-2, even if they aren’t playing up to the caliber of a team like the Indianapolis Colts or New England Patriots. Heck, we’re several plays away from being 3-7. Grin and bear it; things will get better. It could be worse; we could have Russell Wilson.

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