After an awful first half during which the Raiders actually finished with negative yardage, Derek Carr and the Raiders offense started the second half with a touchdown drive.
That got Khalil Mack started, too.
Mack finished with five sacks, one for a safety, and Mack was good enough to help the Raiders survive other blunders as they held on for a 15-12 win over the Broncos in Denver Sunday.
The Broncos led, 12-0, at halftime after the Raiders had -12 total yards. The Broncos had just 86 yards in the second half after posting 224 in the first half.
After Mychal Rivera provided what turned out to be the winning points on a touchdown catch from Carr with a little more than 10 minutes left, the Raiders went for two because long snapper Jon Condo was injured and in the locker room. Missing the conversion try kept the Broncos within 3 points, but a Brandon McManus missed field goal with 10:27 left kept the Raiders in the lead.
The Raiders survived despite missing a field goal and trading punts the rest of the way. Mack had his fifth and final sack on the final Denver drive.
Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders dropped a punt at the Broncos’ 11-yard line early in the fourth quarter, setting the Raiders up for a quick score to Rivera. Vernon Davis was open but dropped a Brock Osweiler pass on fourth down on what became the Broncos’ final offensive play.
The Raiders moved to 6-7 and kept their slim playoff hopes alive, at least for now.
The Broncos fell to 10-3, keeping the 8-5 Chiefs barely alive in the AFC West race and failing to capitalize on the Bengals’ loss earlier in the day. The Bengals entered the day as the AFC’s No. 1 seed and the Broncos were No. 2. The Patriots, who were No. 3, play Sunday night.
