DENVER -- It's still 2-0.
A balky offensive effort was saved by a fourth-quarter catch-and-run from Denver Broncos Tim Patrick against a decidedly gassed Oakland Raiders defense. And surviving a record day from Raiders QB Derek Carr who completed 90.3 percent of his passes revealed one big revelation about a now 2-0 team: The Broncos might still miss Aqib Talib more than they may want to admit.
Because while two wins are certainly two wins after Sunday's 20-19 Broncos victory -- Brandon McManus' 36-yard field goal with 6 seconds to play capped a 10-play, game-winning drive -- the Oakland Raiders found a few cracks in Denver's defense that other teams, especially the high-powered Chiefs offense, can exploit.
When the Broncos traded Talib to the Los Angeles Rams this past offseason, the Broncos’ hope was they had the personnel to overcome to the loss of a player who went to four Pro Bowls in his four seasons with the team. Well, consider the jury still decidedly out as the Broncos lost big plays on replay reviews, including a touchdown, and committed penalties that cut deep, all while the Raiders repeatedly challenged the third cornerback in the Broncos' defense.
“We just knew he was going to throw dink and dunks all game,’’ said Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. “He threw a lot of ‘now’ routes, screens, things like that. We just worry about the points … But we’ve got to get that gel, figure out who’s going to be out there with us.’’
Carr finished 28-of-31 for 288 yards with a touchdown in a get-rid-of-it-quick approach that frustrated the Broncos' defense for much of the day. After he tossed a 20-yard touchdown pass to Seth Roberts with 5 minutes, 31 seconds left in the third quarter, Carr had thrown just one incomplete pass to that point -- he was 21-of-22.
Over and over again the Broncos used a five-defensive back look against the Raiders and over and over again Carr made the Broncos pay. By halftime, when the Raiders had built a 12-0 lead, the Raiders had gained 168 of their 202 yards of offense against the Broncos’ nickel look.
The Ravens will certainly make a note of it before next weekend, and with offenses like the Los Angeles Rams' and division-rival Chiefs also on the horizon over the next four weeks, it is not a headache that’s going away.
“At halftime (Sunday) it wasn’t good,’’ said Broncos coach Vance Joseph. “I think at one point David was 13 for 14, maybe, it was crazy, the ball was coming out so fast … and (Carr) was really hot. He was really hot.’’
The Broncos rolled the dice a bit on all of this. Their solution was Bradley Roby would take Talib’s spot in the defense and they would find a third cornerback, either in the draft or free agency.
They signed Tramaine Brock in the offseason to be the solution. Brock has been a starter in the league and has played for Broncos coach Vance Joseph before -- in San Francisco, when Joseph was a 49ers assistant.
But Brock also suffered a hamstring injury early in training camp and didn’t get as much work in the defense as the Broncos would have hoped. So, just before the start of the regular season the Broncos signed Adam Jones, a 30-something cornerback who also played for Joseph -- with the Cincinnati Bengals -- who had been unsigned to that point in the offseason.
Both Brock and Jones took turns playing at the third cornerback in the defense Sunday. Raiders coach Jon Gruden, a veteran play-caller, seemed to take note of where either was in the formation.
“We’ve got some things to clean up and we’ll look at it,’’ Harris said. “But we can’t let people score, not matter how they come at us … no matter what group we have out there … But I think (Jones) got shook up a little bit so (Brock) came in and played. They’re both still new compared to other guys in this defense, we still need just to gel a bit.’’
The Raiders scored on their first possession, a field goal, as the Broncos were in the nickel in five of the nine plays on the drive (penalty included). And in the Raiders' touchdown drive to close out the first half, the Broncos were in the nickel seven times in 11 plays (penalty included).
It’s also no accident as Carr piled up one snappy completion after another, Von Miller’s impact on the game was lessened. Miller had a strip-sack negated by a holding penalty on linebacker Todd Davis in the first quarter and he had a second quarter sack, but the Broncos couldn’t hold coverage long enough on the likes of(nine catches, 103 yards) or Jared Cook (four catches, 49 yards) long enough for even Miller to get home.
“Todd owes me steak dinner, man, I’ve got to talk to him,’’ Miller said. “ … Whenever we got the pass rush going (Carr) was just throwing the ball. Derek is a great quarterback, we know how fast he throws the ball and it was no surprise in (Sunday’s) game.
Privately, it was all a concern as the preseason drew to a close, but the Broncos avoided the issue as the Seahawks repeatedly tried to push the ball down the field in the passing game in the season opener, which gave the Broncos a little more time to get to Russell Wilson
Sunday, however, the Broncos, by the slimmest of margins, almost couldn’t hold coverage and didn't force Carr to hold the ball long enough to change any of that.