C.J. Anderson Sparks Broncos Offense in Victory Over Raiders

The Denver Broncos were able to easily defeat the Oakland Raiders on Sunday. The final score of 41-17 doesn't reflect the fact that this game was close in the first quarter. After one quarter, the score was tied 3-3, and the Broncos offense just looked off.

Quarterback Peyton Manning had already thrown a pick after one quarter of play, and he went 11-of-15 for 85 yards through the air. Starting running back Ronnie Hillman was not productive in the opening quarter, with only two carries for 11 yards.

With 11:19 left in the second quarter, the Raiders had taken a 10-6 lead over the Broncos after rookie quarterback Derek Carr hit wide receiver Brice Butler in the end zone for six. By that time, Manning had thrown his second interception of the day, and the Broncos offense was out of sync.

Enter second-year running back C.J. Anderson.

With Hillman battling a minor ankle injury, the team decided to give Anderson some extra playing time. It was no shock that the talented power runner was able to make the most of his opportunity.

"

Zero surprise here. CJ Anderson looking great with a larger role. #Broncos

— Cecil Lammey (@cecillammey) November 9, 2014"

Anderson was the spark that ignited the explosion of offense the Broncos had against the Raiders. Here's a look at his big day.

Running

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Anderson runs with a nice blend of power and speed. He does a good job of creating his own space when the ball is in his hands.

He can run over defenders and gain extra yards after contact regularly. Anderson has a powerful lower body, and he's tough to bring down once he builds a head of steam.

Anderson is also faster than some defenders think. He's not a burner by any means, but he might have the fastest 10-yard split of any running back on the Broncos roster. To build a head of steam, Anderson doesn't need much time or distance.

He led the team in rushing on Sunday with 13 carries for 90 yards. That's a healthy average of 6.9 yards per carry. Of those 13 rushes, the longest carry was only a 17-yard gain. Anderson consistently gashed the Raiders defense.

Receiving

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

The play of the year (so far) for the Broncos might have come from Anderson on Sunday. On a 3rd-and-8 during the second quarter, Manning was under duress and flipped the ball quickly to Anderson on a simple screen pass.

After gathering in the pass with one hand, Anderson made several defenders miss on his way to a 51-yard touchdown. The Broncos were rather lethargic before this play. However, after Anderson's big gain, the momentum of the game seemed to shift in favor of the Broncos.

Raiders veteran defensive end Justin Tuck feels it was that play that took the wind out of the sails for the Raiders.

"Unfortunately, yes [Anderson's touchdown changed the momentum of the game]," Tuck said. "We've got to be a team that can take the shots like that one and bounce from that."

Of course, Manning had a lot to say when breaking down that play from Anderson.

"Yeah, that was as fine a play as I've seen so far this season I have to tell you," Manning said. "I thought they had pretty good coverage on the play across the board. It felt like I was trying—I don't know, maybe I couldn't tell—but I thought I was feeling somebody was kind of close to me. I didn't want to have a sack certainly in that situation. C.J. caught it. Easily could have been maybe a catch for minus two yards or something.

"The next thing you know, he breaks the tackle. I don't know how many guys he made miss, but it was just an effort play on his part. It looked like he picked up some blocks downfield from some guys, which was good to see. Everybody kept playing.

"Truly an incredible effort play on his part to take, like I said, potentially a catch for a loss and turn in into a 50-something-yard touchdown. That really gave us a spark offensively, and of course, the whole sideline was fired up.

"C.J. played great today. He did a heck of a job in the running game. I think he had four or five catches. He knows this offense well. He's on top of everything back there in the backfield. I have a real comfort with him back there, but that play in particular was very special."

After the game, Anderson commented on how the team responded on the field after his big play.

"I felt everybody excited! So, I mean, if that changes that, that works," Anderson said. "It was just about we struggled early. You know, we have to kill some of the penalties. I mean, there are a lot of things we can learn off this tape. Just like a lot of things we learned of the last tape when we lost to New England.

"It's up to the team to get better every day and get to work tomorrow, and I'll get ready, too."

Anderson ended up second on the team in receiving yards against the Raiders. He was targeted seven times and hauled in four passes for 73 yards and one touchdown.

His valuable all-purpose skill set was certainly on display in Oakland.

Broncos History

With his performance on Sunday, Anderson goes into the Broncos record book. He became just the fifth running back in team history to post at least 70 yards rushing and 70 yards receiving in a single game.

Player	Opponent	Rushing	Receiving
Floyd Little	vs Buffalo 1968	71	165
Floyd Little	vs San Diego 1973	109	76
Otis Armstrong	vs Pittsburgh 1974	131	86
Terrell Davis	at Oakland 1997	85	70
Terrell Davis	vs Jacksonville 1998	136	76
Clinton Portis	vs Kansas City 2002	130	75
Clinton Portis	at Kansas City 2003	141	79
C.J. Anderson	at Oakland 2014	90	73

Broncos head coach John Fox responded positively when asked about Anderson's 51-yard touchdown reception.

"We stuck together and had each other's backs, and obviously, it was an inspiration play," Fox said. "I mean, it was great individual effort, and it inspired our football team."

Summary

Anderson might be the best back on the roster. One could certainly make that argument after the way he performed against the Raiders in Week 10. Broncos fans (and writers) can also ask the question that Mike Klis of The Denver Post did via Twitter during the game.

"

Seriously, why weren't the Broncos playing C.J. Anderson more in first half of season?

— Mike Klis (@MikeKlis) November 9, 2014"

The answer to that question is unclear, and we'll likely never really know why Anderson hasn't gotten a larger opportunity until now. It seems like every time he touches the ball, Anderson is capable of making positive plays. On Sunday, Anderson proved that he could make momentum-changing plays as well.

With his performance, Anderson has certainly earned the opportunity to do more.

All quotes and injury/practice observations obtained firsthand. Record/statistical information provided via email from the Denver Broncos unless otherwise noted. Contract and salary-cap information provided by Spotrac.com. Transaction history provided by ProSportsTransactions.com.