Raiders report card: Grades on offense, defense in 20-19 loss to Broncos

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DENVER -- The Raiders blew a second-half lead to the Denver Broncos on Sunday despite several opportunities to secure victory.

The Raiders have started this season with two losses after a 20-19 defeat at Broncos Stadium at Mile High, where the team looked good at times and deficient at others.

Let’s see how the Silver and Black graded out. Here’s their report card from this loss in Denver.

Rushing offense

The Raiders showed great balance on offense and remained committed to the run game, though the yards-per-carry average wasn’t great. The number: 3.4. A higher total might have helped sustain drives, especially when the Raiders were trying to run out the clock late in the fourth quarter.

Marshawn Lynch seems to be in great shape and is running well early this season. Doug Martin was decent in reserve, especially against a stout Broncos front. There’s room for improvement in this area, but the Raiders weren’t bad moving on the ground.

Grade: C-plus

Passing offense

Derek Carr was awesome against the Broncos, completing 90.6 percent of his passes against a stout Broncos secondary. Amari Cooper was heavily involved, to the tune of 10 catches on 10 targets for 116 yards. Carr got nine different guys involved in the passing game, and had no problem pushing the ball downfield, with six passes exceeding 20 yards. Carr’s best pass was a 20-yard laser to Seth Roberts in the end zone.

Oakland's air attack made great strides because its triggerman was pinpoint accurate.

Grade: A-minus

Rushing defense

The Raiders let undrafted Broncos rookie Phillip Lindsay get loose for 107 yards on 14 carries, including a 53-yarder that set up a field goal. The defensive interior had some missteps while working with a patchwork group that included late-week signings Clinton McDonald and Johnathan Hankins. Oakland missed Justin Ellis and P.J. Hall on the inside, and a sure-tackling team whiffed on a few runners at key moments.

The Broncos had 168 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries. That isn’t going to cut it in any game.

Grade: D

Pass defense

The Raiders' secondary clearly is better. Rashaan Melvin made a great play to intercept a Case Keenum pass near the goal line, but the veteran wasn’t perfect. Gareon Conley made a mistake on Tim Patrick’s catch and run that set up the game-winning field goal.

Keenum had a 61.8 passer rating, which is a good thing. The pass rush, however, was not. It was nonexistent most of the game, with Bruce Irvin failing to generate steady pressure. It was a game like this where the Raiders missed Khalil Mack, a bonafide closer, up front.

Grade: C-minus

Special teams

Dwayne Harris was ruled inactive with injury., which was a blow to the Raiders' return game. But the biggest issue came on an extra-point attempt that wasn’t blocked appropriately. Shaquil Barrett got by Donald Penn and put a hand on Mike Nugent’s attempt. That’s inexcusable, especially in a one-point game.

Grade: F

Overall

The Raiders came into this contest with a solid game plan. Jon Gruden and Paul Guenther both called a good game, but execution waned down the stretch.  The Raiders couldn’t close, and that’s a problem.

Gruden has to re-teach this team how to win. It erased most of the good done over three quarters in this game.

Grade: C-minus

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