Broncos vs. Raiders: Score and Twitter Reaction for Sunday Night Football

It was only one win, but the Oakland Raiders' 30-20 victory over the Denver Broncos felt like more than that on Sunday night.

It felt like a shift in the balance of power in the AFC West.

The Raiders seized sole possession of first place in the division at 7-2, while Denver is 6-3 and looking up at the Raiders and the 6-2 Kansas City Chiefs.

Oakland entered the game with a number of weapons in the passing attack, but it physically enforced its will against Denver's front on the ground. Running back Latavius Murray tallied 114 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while the team as a whole finished with 218 yards on the ground. 

Jason McCallum of SportsCenter noted Murray joined rare company with his performance, while former coach Tony Dungy pointed to the offensive line:

Derek Carr added 184 passing yards, and the Raiders posted 397 total yards to Denver's 299.

The Raiders played more disciplined football than last week, when they set an NFL record with 23 penalties. Denver committed 12 penalties for 104 yards, while Oakland finished with eight for 72 yards, per ESPN.com.

The Broncos rushing attack was nonexistent, as Devontae Booker and Kapri Bibbs combined for 33 yards on 12 carries. That left the one-dimensional offense fighting an uphill battle, although, Trevor Siemian ended up with 283 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the loss. 

There was news before the game when Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall stood during the national anthem. He previously followed San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's example and knelt during the song as a means of raising social awareness of racial inequality.

Oakland controlled the early stages but had to settle for field goals after driving inside Denver's 10-yard line on its first two possessions. Von Miller notched a critical third-down sack to force the second one, which was Sebastian Janikowski's 400th field goal of his career, per James Palmer of NFL Network.

Jeff Legwold of ESPN said Oakland became the eighth opponent to score on its opening drive against Denver, and ESPN's Trey Wingo reacted to the pattern: 

The Raiders outgained Denver 137-9 in the first quarter and broke through for a touchdown early in the second when Murray extended the ball on a leap at the goal line.

He barely reached the plane, as the NFL shared:

Just when it looked as if Oakland would run away with it, Siemian dropped a perfectly placed bootleg pass to Jordan Norwood for a 36-yard touchdown. The first-year starter held strong in the pocket with Khalil Mack bearing down and delivered a momentum-shifting strike.

It didn't last long, as Murray found paydirt again with 1:25 left in the half. He set things up with a 42-yard scamper earlier in the drive and punched it in following two pass interference penalties.

Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus pointed out how physical the Raiders back was in the first half:

Denver trimmed the halftime deficit to 20-10 with a Brandon McManus field goal, but it came after Emmanuel Sanders dropped a potential touchdown on a deep ball.

Oakland continued to dictate the tempo early in the third quarter. It controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and won the field-position battle when Marquette King pinned Denver back at its own 2-yard line and 1-yard line on consecutive punts.

Arthur Arkush of Pro Football Weekly commented on the performance:

While they were outplayed for much of the game, the Broncos remained within striking distance when McManus hit a 44-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 20-13.

Playing comeback was harder for Denver after Derek Wolfe was ruled out for the rest of the game with an elbow injury, per the team's official website. With Wolfe off the field, Oakland added another Janikowski field goal to re-establish a two-score lead.

Things took a strange turn on the next two possessions when Bruce Irvin forced a turnover with a strip-sack of Siemian and Carr appeared to throw an interception to T.J. Ward on the very next play.

However, the interception was overturned, and the Raiders proceeded to put the game away. Murray finished the drive with a one-yard score after Denver was called for pass interference twice and defensive holding.

Troy Renck of ABC Denver responded to the flags:

It wasn't quite over, though, as Bibbs sliced through Oakland's defense for a 69-yard touchdown off a screen pass.

The Broncos got the ball back with a chance to climb closer, but Reggie Nelson picked off Siemian's fourth-down pass to clinch the win and first place in the division.

What's Next?

The Broncos will hit the road for their next game against the New Orleans Saints before a bye week. The timing of the bye week is ideal, considering a clash with the Chiefs is waiting on the other end, which will prove crucial for positioning in the AFC West.

As for the Raiders, they head to their bye week with a lead in the division. Their next three games are then at home against the Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers and Buffalo Bills, which means they have a golden opportunity to create some separation in the division.

If Oakland defends home-field advantage in the coming weeks, it will be battling for a first-round bye in the playoffs. 

Postgame Reaction

Oakland left tackle Donald Penn discussed his team's physical domination, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com): "That's what we do. We try to take our will out on people and today it looked real good. Some days it doesn't but today it looked real good. We have to keep building. We have to get more consistent."

Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall looked at things from Denver's perspective, per the Associated Press: "We gave up 200 yards rushing today. That's definitely not the mark of a great defense, we can't just get run over."

Raiders coach Jack Del Rio talked about the change of culture in Oakland, per the Associated Press: "We're growing to expect success. We know we’re a good team."

They're good enough to snap a playoff drought that goes back to the 2002 season and proved as much Sunday.