DENVER — The Denver Broncos’ defense recorded six sacks, an interception and a blocked punt to overcome an uninspiring performance by their offense and beat the division rival Las Vegas Raiders, 10-7 on Thursday night.
A blocked punt by safety JL Skinner and recovered by running back Tyler Badie deep in Vegas territory led to what would be the difference-making field goal in the final seconds of the third quarter: a 32-yard chip shot by Broncos kicker Wil Lutz.
Denver held the Raiders to just 188 yards and 4-of-15 on third downs in a game that saw Vegas quarterback Geno Smith banged up in the second half. Nik Bonitto logged 1.5 sacks for a defense that's on pace to set the NFL record for sacks in a season through 10 weeks.
Broncos quarterback Bo Nix threw two interceptions as Denver managed just 220 yards of its own. The Broncos went 3-and-out 8 different times during the game, including on each of their first four drives.
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Denver marched 53 yards for its lone touchdown in the second quarter and took advantage of the blocked punt just 12 yards from paydirt for the deciding field goal.
Denver rode its second-longest drive of the game (47 yards) to run out the clock over the final 4:26 of game clock.
The Broncos move to 8-2 – the NFL’s best record for the time being – with their seventh consecutive win.
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