Denver Broncos rout Oakland Raiders and clinch first-round bye in the playoffs
By Andrew Dill
The Denver Broncos bounced back in a huge way Sunday afternoon and clinched a first-round bye in the playoffs. Denver wrapped up the second seed in the west after defeating the division rival Oakland Raiders at Sports Authority Field, 47-14. Also, Denver recorded at least 10+ points in each quarter and even saw an appearance from backup quarterback Brock Osweiler who recorded his first career touchdown pass to Virgil Green.
With a game consisting of 47 points from the Broncos, Peyton Manning didn’t record a single touchdown pass. Manning finished the game completing 21-of-37 passes for 273 yards while getting sacked just once throughout the contest. 115 of Manning’s 273 passing yards went to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas. Thomas hauled in eight catches on 17 targets Sunday afternoon, recording yet another 100+ yard game.
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The running game is what carried the Broncos yet again as a key piece of their backfield returned. Ronnie Hillman last played in week 10 against Oakland after suffering a foot injury. Hillman looked good, recording 56 yards on 15 carries with a long carry of 13. His teammate C.J. Anderson continues to impress as he led the team with 87 yards rushing on 13 carries. Not to mention, Anderson tallied three rushing touchdowns in the season finale in which he finished with eight on the season.
Denver’s defense was active in the win, recording an interception and three sacks on rookie quarterback Derek Carr. Von Miller, Aqib Talib, and Lerentee McCray all recorded sacks Sunday afternoon. Denver was also active with their hands, recording 12 pass deflections throughout the contest. Kayvon Webster, Malik Jackson, Bradley Roby, and Todd Davis each deflected two passes apiece.
With the win, Denver clinched a first-round bye next week as they finished with a record of 12-4. Denver will take on the highest winning seed from the AFC Wild Card Round Jan. 10th. The two Wild Card games next week will be the Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals vs. Indianapolis Colts. Denver will essentially take on the winner of Pittsburgh and Baltimore.