Raiders vs. Broncos: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 Regular Season

The Oakland Raiders were plagued by shaky execution all day, but they did just enough to snag a 15-12 win over the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field on Sunday and snap an eight-game losing streak against their AFC West foes.       

The Broncos looked like the superior team from a raw statistical standpoint—outgaining the Raiders, 310-126—but Oakland just barely made better use of its possessions after halftime.  

Following a muffed punt by wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr picked the Silver and Black up and needed just 16 seconds before he fired a go-ahead touchdown toss to tight end Mychal Rivera in the fourth quarter, per the NFL on Twitter:

After taking a three-point lead, controversy surrounded the Raiders' decision to go for a two-point conversion instead of kicking the extra point to put the Broncos in a touchdown-or-bust bind. As it turns out, long snapper Jon Condo was injured and wasn't available to snap the ball. 

However, ESPN's Louis Riddick didn't think that was an excuse for making what could have been a costly decision: 

Along with repeated Denver mistakes, Oakland was saved by the production of defensive end Khalil Mack, who bullied Denver's offensive line to the tune of five sacks. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Mack became the first player since Aldon Smith in 2012 to total five sacks in a game. 

ESPN's Trey Wingo summed up Mack's dominance nicely: 

The Raiders were also aided by the superlative punting of Marquette King. As crazy as it sounds, King helped tilt field position in Oakland's favor all game and finished with 10 punts at an average of 46 yards a boot. 

On a day when the Raiders rushed 23 times for 27 yards, mustered just 135 yards through the air and had eight first downs, Sporting News' Eric Galko put King's display in proper perspective:

Carr finished the day by completing 12-of-29 passes for two scores, but rookie receiver Amari Cooper was held without a catch. Meanwhile, Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler completed 35-of-51 attempts for 308 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions as Denver ate up yards between the 20s before stumbling repeatedly. 

The Raiders were an abject disaster in the first half, and that may be putting it lightly. Oakland posted minus-12 yards of offense over the first two quarters, which was the lowest total of any team in the last quarter-century, according to SportsCenter on Twitter. 

However, Denver wasn't much better. Although they kept the chains moving behind Osweiler's arm, the Broncos had to settle for field goals on each of their first four scoring possessions. And ultimately, an inability to make good on repeated trips into Oakland territory put Denver between a rock and a hard place, according to Bleacher Report's Matt Miller:

Looking back, the loss could prove to be a costly one for Denver. On a day when the Cincinnati Bengals lost quarterback Andy Dalton and fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Broncos couldn't capitalize on a winnable matchup and maintain a stranglehold on the AFC's No. 2 seed.

Instead, they dropped to the No. 3 seed, while the New England Patriots vaulted back up to the top spot with a chance to create some separation against the Houston Texans on Sunday night.

The Raiders' playoff chances can be classified as a pipe dream at best, but Sunday's win was a confidence-booster for a team that underwhelmed throughout November and early December with losses to the Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs.

Post-Game Reaction

Broncos defensive end DeMarcus Ware didn't hesitate to pinpoint Mack as the Raiders' most important player, per NFL Network's James Palmer: 

However, injured Raiders wide receiver Rod Streater identified King as his player of the game:

"It all starts and stops with me," Osweiler said, according to the Denver Post's Nicki Jhabvala. "I have to find a way to get our offense into the end zone and scoring points." 

Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak noted the team's red-zone woes were ultimately the source of Denver's undoing, according to the team's Twitter account: 

"No reason to point any fingers," Osweiler said, per the Broncos' official Twitter account. "We just came up short."