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Published on 11/23/2008 at Sun Nov 23 17:34.
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Broncos Collapse in Second Half, Fall to Raiders 31-10

Posted Sun Nov 23rd by

Peyton Hillis vs. Raiders (Getty Images)
Broncos running backs only gained 84 yards on the ground. (Getty Images)

After two missed Matt Prater field goals and a Peyton Hillis fumble five yards shy of the end zone, the Broncos remained tied with the Raiders 3-3 with one minute left in the first half. Then Oakland returner Johnny Lee Higgins took the punt 85 yards for the touchdown, and it was all downhill from there. The Oakland Raiders (3-8) beat the Denver Broncos (6-5) in Denver by a final score of 31-10.

The Broncos, coming off back-to-back road wins against teams with better records than Oakland, will now head to New York to face the Jets, who just knocked off the last remaining undefeated team in football.

The San Diego Chargers, meanwhile, play the Indianapolis Colts tonight in a game that could put themselves back in the AFC West conversation.

There’s no pointing fingers for this game – EVERYBODY is to blame. The offense. The defense. The special teams. The coaching and playcalling. Nobody did their job, especially in the second half. The players looked like they packed it in in the fourth quarter, and the coaches did a horrible job of preparing this team for battle. It’s hard to call yourself a Broncos fan after games like this.

But fans we are, and I’m not giving up hope. This team will bounce back, and they’ll play better against New York. Personally, it just pisses me off that they can’t play with that type of mindset week in and week out.

Feel free to vent with me (but play nice, children)….

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  • kerry

    LET THE EXCUSES FLOW!!! come on everybody. lets hear the Shanahan rhetoric for this debacle.

  • kerry

    thats a nice title. “collapse in the second half” i think the collapse happened before the game.

  • Marv

    thanks to the broncos i owe my friend 5 dollars and a free burger but other than that we gotta do a way better job next week to end all the teasing im going to get this week we must beat the jets go Broncos except are safety there just there cause we need 11 players on the field

  • dee

    san deigo must lose …. if we have any shot for the afc west.

  • Matt

    Boo turnovers. Go Colts!

  • Boisebroncoguy

    How in the world do we go to Atlanta, show heart, guts, and grit, and beat a very good team in their house. Then, we come home and one of the worst teams in the league hands our arses to us. Is a fumble and a couple missed field goals enough to make us lose our heart? Or was it just assumed that since this was the Raiders, just showing up was good enough?! And was it just me or was Jay under-throwing everything? Once again we have to count on the Chargers to lose. I am a fan and I will not give up, but this one is tough to take. On the bright side, playing a good team on the road mostly means we play pretty good. (except for the Patriots).

  • conbrio

    this is the most pathetic game the broncos have played since the early sixties.

  • BroncosFan24

    I havent been more embarrased this year from a loss since the broncos lost to Kansas City. Hopefully the Colts can play well and beat the chargers.

  • merc22

    so klye what happened to larsen?

  • Sean

    The Broncos are simply overrated this year. They win close games that seem to go their way at the end (the horrible call against SD for Cutler, Roddy White’s dropped TD). They still seem very likely to make the playoffs, but they simply got dominated today. The Raiders beat them in every aspect of the game today, and no excuse will ease the blow of this loss. Russell showed his strong possible potential, and Both McFadden and Fargas had amazing days.

  • kerry

    well thats Shanahan for you guys. always great at putting a mediocre team on the field. i could have swore everyone was praising Josh Barrett’s promotion saying he was gonna make such an impact today?? what happened with that?? oh no tackles for him.

  • kerry

    come on everybody, i thought by now id be accused of needing therapy, and not being a true fan. where is everyone? did all of you drink a bottle of nyquil at halftime so you wouldnt have to sit through the squashing??

  • AKscott

    yeah i agree broncoboiseguy,no doubt seemed like he was missing some zip on his throws today.. the multiple roughing the passer penalties probably didnt help any. Jay sure didnt have his “A” game, thats for sure… or “B”.. or “C”.. but such is life sometimes.

    Kerry.. seriously man, its funny how after we won last week you were nowhere to be found for a few hours, and quiet for the most part. Meanwhile the board was pretty busy with people HAPPY we won. Excited and encouraged on how the D shoed up, how the (shanny drafted) rookies looked, and so on. Yet in a purely embarrasing loss you have 3 of the first 10 posts, basically gloating. Like you root for the Broncos to lose just to say told ya so. Its bad enough i (and others im sure) have to go to work tomorrow, or school, or wherever people go, and take a week of ribbing from other football fans, but now when i want to come on a board with fellow bronco fans and hear a SENSIBLE discussion on what went wrong, look who’s post 1 and 2… good ol debbie downer. If i wanted ha ha’s and told ya so’s I’d go on the ESPN message board and put up with the moronic raider trolls.

    Secondly nobody said barrett was “going to make such an impact” however, over and over people were posting that they were excited to see him get a chance. People are excited about 6’3 235lbs that runs a 4.35.. doesnt mean he’ll pan out, doesnt mean anybody thinks “he’s steve atwater”.. alot of people just want to see him get a chance on the field. Im sure at some point he’ll get more of a chance, and hopefully we’ll see him do well. At the same time i’d bet the vast majority of posters on here realize he’s a ROOKIE 7th round pick, and dont expect him to step in and contribute much right away.

    Ugh.. com’on colts!

  • Marv

    barrett started Shannah need to get the team ready for the jets to get there stain back

  • Ken C

    The first Defensive drive was good holding the Raiders to 3 and out, and then the Broncos first offensive drive. After that fumble, the balloon was popped and the Raiders had momentum. Go Colts!! Anything to help Denver. I just hope Denver can make it to the playoffs. My heart wants them to go on, but if they do make it, I feel that they would be eliminated during the first game. They may win their division but would definitely have to play Wildcard weekend.

  • http://broncotalk.net Kyle

    kerry, the fact that you take enjoyment out of this makes me question you as a fan. And I’m being as objective as possible. You’re being less classy than my Raiders fan-friend who sent me a text rubbing a bit in my face. Stop feeding off this unearned attention. No one likes a “told you so.”

    merc, good question. Larsen was actually taken out of the game, and LB Mario Haggan played quite a bit at middle linebacker, making five tackles. Don’t know why the hell they did that.

    conbrio – It’s among the tops. Possibly the 2nd worst in the Shanahan era, next to the 96 playoff loss to the Jags. And that was early in his career. This was just plain ugly through and through. The Raiders converted on ALL seven third downs in the second half. They hadn’t scored an offensive touchdown in 15 quarters! And they go 7 for 7. Disgusting.

  • http://broncotalk.net Kyle

    We needed Champ Bailey on Ashley Lelie tonight. We need him next week, bad. Get better 24!

  • kerry

    yeah because i predicted this. Shanahan will always do his best to put a mediocre team on the field. 10 years of an average record of 9-7 and all of you still blindly follow Shanahan. there is no excuse for the lack of heart this team showed today. that is all on Shanahan for not getting his team ready to play. all of you wanna give him so much credit for the supposed “great job” e is doing this year. but now that the team went down in flames you Shanny lemmings wont step up and hold Shanahan accountable for the debacle at home. instead you wanna focus on me and my posts. well deal with it. i take a good ribbing for simply speaking the truth. but it doesnt bother me at all. and another thing is im not happy at all that the Broncos lost. i wanted them to win. i say what i say because i know all of you will come here and pass the blame and make excuses for this joke of a head coach. you all wanna give him credit for the good things but never wanna hold him accountable for the bad. instead its all “kerry you arent a true fan” or “Kerry why dont you become a chargers fan” way to divert the discussion about the REAL problem with the Broncos.

  • jake

    Man all I got to say is grrrrr…..There are usally four receivers out there on average and Jay can only see one! Stokely was open a lot for cryin out loud…

  • AKscott

    I was at the game this year out in KC. I was there in person and i stayed til the very end. I would rather relive that experience 10 more times then have to sit and watch the game today one more time. Im just sick.

    And for the record, the fans in KC were actually really classy. Besides a few remarks in the parking lot at Kaufmann stadium, they were pretty good fans actually. I was expecting much worse. I only say that to give a little perspective on the kerry remarks. I mean really.. what have the Chiefs done in the last 35+ years?? Not much of anything, and they are waaaaay less pessemistic than you my friend.

  • http://broncotalk.net Kyle

    kerry – Just post that comment in the first place, and you won’t come off the way you do. I totally respect the opinion of everyone on this site, including yours. But those comments weren’t even close to trying to have any sort of discussion about what ails the Broncos. They were “ha, I told you so” kind of comments.

    There have been four BAD losses like this in the past two seasons now (SD, @DET, @NE, OAK), and each one chips away at my pro-Shanahan armor. I’m not hopping off the Shana-wagon yet, but he’s got to do a better job at getting this team prepared.

    Sigh… 2nd quarter… Chargers 10, Colts 3…

  • Marv

    lets talk how peyton manning driving the ball in to the chargers redzone

  • AKscott

    like i posted a week or so ago, we have to look no further than the chargers. They have a hall of fame calliber head coach, win the division and run him out of town. Whats it gotten them? We should learn from them.

    And yeah kerry, in theory what you say sounds good, except thats not what your posts say.. all you ever do is post negative posts, and we’re in freakin FIRST PLACE! Whether you like shanny or not, there are plenty of positives on this team. Plenty to be excited about.. even in this awful loss

  • kerry

    see i wasnt pessimistic at all this offseason until i saw that Shanahan let Michael Turner get away. then i saw that shanahan was gonna try and put bums in the backfield again this year. every scout said Torain was injury prone and shanahan drafted him and look what happened, right on cue Torain gets injured. Shanahan is not a good head coach. 10 years of mediocrity should be enough. why cant anyone else see that? 10 years! but this guy gets a pass because he won 2 SB’s with a team full of hall of famers that Shanahan didnt even draft or trade for? this debacle today further reinforces the fact that Shanahan has completely lost this team. Marshall cant catch the ball and doesnt even try anymore. Cutler pouts like a girl on the sidelines all the time, nobody can stay healthy, Jeremy Bates is a terrible play caller. now our playoff life depends on the Chargers losing. how is that a good team when we have to DEPEND on the other to lose.

  • Sauntered_In

    If we can’t play ant better than this, I am hoping the Chargers win. We will get blown away in the first week of the playoffs if we make it.

  • Marv

    kerry do got a point but as a fan u have to appreciate the good are team have done so far

  • Rob Bronco

    You’re sadly mistaken if you think Shanahan is to blame for our collapse today. He doesn’t play corner. He doesn’t play safety. He didn’t throw the interceptions. He didn’t give up 100+ yards to Justin Fargas. This isn’t about the coach. Shanahan is one of the winningest coaches in the league. He drafts well (see Royal, Torrain, Cutler, Clady). But there’s a reason that only two teams make it to the Superbowl. Much of winning in the NFL comes down to luck. The player falls down. A close call (or noncall) from a Ref. If you suggest that we replace Shanahan, then I would ask you – Who out there would be a better coach? Do we want Norv Turner when he’s cut from the Chargers? What about Ryan from the Raiders? I hear that Danny Green is available. What about Jim Mora? Exactly, they ALL suck. Shanahan knows football. He’s won the division several times in his tenure, and he’s won 2 superbowls. Whether he drafted those people or not is irrelevant. He coached them to victory. What we need is to stand by our team, cheer when they cheer, and bleed when they bleed. The vast majority of our players play with heart 100% of the team. But there are days when the chemistry isn’t there, or when the timing is just off. Kerry, if you don’t like what we’re doing, fine. Speak your mind. But be careful what you wish for. You (and all of us) just might get it.

  • kerry

    the good? what good? the only thing this team has been good at is being bad. there have been some good INDIVIDUAL performances. but as a team they are grossly inconsistant. the only consistancies on this team are the O-line and Eddie Royal. everybody else goes hot and cold every week. that is not the sign of a well rounded team. and definetly a sign of bad discipline.

  • kerry

    and right on cue the typical Shanny apologist shows up and makes an appearance. there is the old excuse of “Oh Shanny didnt play Corner” or “Shanny didnt throw the INT” way to pass the blame onto everybody else but Shanahan himself. Shanny didnt prepare this team in the least. they were unmotivated and underprepared. but im sure thats somebody else’s fault right?? and you said he drafted well and listed Torain?? is there a different Torain then the one who got injured twice and ran for a whole 64 yards before his second injury?? no Shanahan doesnt draft well. Jarvis Moss, Tim Crowder, Willie Middlebrooks, Nick Eason, Darius Watts and so on and so on. and you say Shanahan drats well? HAHAHAHA. so tell me your excuse for the average 9-7 record over the last ten years. id love to hear who’s fault that is.

  • AKscott

    Whats Michael freaking Turner ever done?? Whats he ever won?? There was no real evidence that he was anything other than a good change of pace back. Yes he played well with the chargers when given the chance, and he showed flashes of being real good, but the notion that Michael Turner was some guaranteed game changer is a bit nuts. BEFORE the season you could probably make as many points against why he will be a star as you could for. Now obviously he’s played great this year, but for that to be your reason to be pessemistic for the rest of the year seems odd to me. Plus who’s to say he wouldnt come here and get injured just like the other 79 runningbacks we’ve used this year.

    PS if torrain wasnt injury prone he wouldnt have been there in the 5th to take.. sometimes you take a chance on guys and it works, sometimes it doesnt, and its WAAAAAAY to early to say that this one didnt work.. for all we know he may never miss another game. Its not an exact science, its the NFL draft

  • AKscott

    and right on cue you skew the facts to try to prove your point.. “they’ve averaged 9-7 over the past decade” nonsense.. Yep, when you put it that way it doesnt sound great, at the same time its competetive, we win more than we lose.. but nothing spectacular obviously..

    OR you can look at it like this, how many teams in that timeframe have won more games than us… 3..thats it… NE,IND,PIT.. all of them also play in the AFC.. AFC has been the better conference for much of the last decade, and its a murderers row come playoff time every year. Over that timeframe we’re something like 24 games OVER .500 — its all a matter of how you look at it, how you want to word a fact to make your arguement.

    as ive said before, we are about halfway through making a pretty big overhaul to the team, the rest (should) be done this offseason with a defensive heavy draft, and if the draft picks turn out 1/2 as good as these have we will be well on our way to being a SB caliber team

  • kerry

    why should i be pessimistic for the rest of the year? well lets see….Shanahan is still in charge. we have nobody in the backfield that can run well. the team has no focus, no fire, and no identity. we are on the downslope of the mountain. everybody here is praying for the Chargers to lose just to have some glimmer of hope for the playoffs. how absurd is that? having to depend on another team to lose just so we can back into the playoffs like we have everytime we went for the last ten years. i have no faith in this team while Shanahan is running the show. if Shanahan would give up being the GM/VP/ then this team could get back on track. we had a GM and a VP while Shanahan just coached and we won the SB. but shanahan is turning into Dan Reeves. having to control every facet of the team.

  • AKscott

    ..didnt want to hit submit yet..

    to finish my above point, now is not the time to can shanny. If after next season there’s nothing pointing to things getting better, then i think maybe the situation should be addressed then.. not halfway through the job

  • kerry

    how is that nonsense? ITS THE TRUTH!! an average of 9-7 is not anything to be proud of. have those 9-7 averages won another SB title? or even a trip to the SB? no, not even close. you are skewing the facts. trying to put a silk hat on a pig with all this “oh we have been competitive” and “only such and such teams have won more games then us” and dont you get it that Shanahan cant draft a defensive player to save his life?? only DJ Williams is leftover from the 2001-2004 drafts and only Karl Paymah is leftover from the 05 draft. Shanahan doesnt know how to draft defense. he never has! thats why a true GM is needed! someone who knows how to build both sides. not just one.

  • Shanarat Sucks Arse

    Coach Shanarat has done nothing sice Elway left, nothing at all.

    The donkeys are on the way down and the Raiders are on the way up.

  • jchase8410

    This game is hard for me to swallow…i’m glad that I didn’t get to watch it. Why does this team show up and win big games against good teams, but when they play horrible teams they get stomped? I don’t.really know what happened since apparently southern Cali doesn’t get to watch AFC West games, but where was the heart of this team? Where was the determination to win? 3 losses in a row at home is ridiculous! Losses to the 1-9 Chiefs and 3-8 Raiders is inexcusable. I just don’t know what to expect week to week with the broncos. I never know which team is going to show up. At least they are young and have time to run, but they’re burning my ulcer.

  • Rob Bronco

    EVERY team is inconsistent, Kerry. EVERY TEAM. That I’m aware of, as of today, there are no undefeated teams in the NFL. Take a look at the standings across the league, and you’re going to see a TON of inconsistency. Do you consider Tony Dungy a good head coach? His team is fighting for the lives at 6-4 (just like we were) against a team that is 4-6. What about Bellichek? Do you consider him a good coach? His team is 7-4 and in second place in their division after going 19-1 last season. What about Sean Peyton or Andy Reid? Both are excellent coaches with a ton of talent on their teams and both are sitting at 5-5. Don’t talk to me about inconsistency. Games come down to PLAYERS and EXECUTION. Coaches call plays and plan strategy, but the game is won on the gridiron. You’re a typical bandwagon fan, Kerry. You piss, cry, and moan when we are struggling, and you tell everyone that you told us so. But when we are winning, you’re the first guy shouting from the rooftops how much of a “Broncos” fan you are. Take a look around, Kerry. Some of the greatest coaches, and some of the greatest players, are on teams that are mediocre or worse. Maybe next time you can wear your “I hate Elway” tshirt with the word “hate” crossed out and replaced with the word “LOVE”, which you did when he finally won two superbowls.

  • Broncos Fan in AL

    Check out SD! They’re down 20-10 in the 4th quarter. Nobody wants to win the AFC West. Hilarious.

  • AKscott

    well put rob.. (also Holmgren in seattle to the list)

  • http://www.nfldraftdog.com/NFL%20Team%20Columns/nfl_team_column_main_page.htm James

    This is still a young team. Youg teams have a tendancy to have a lack of humililty and be overconfident. This team thought that all they had to do was show up. In the NFL any team cn beat you regardless of records. Growing pains of a team that is building.

    I don’t think this is a team that can go very far in the playoffs so I am not putting a lot of hope in this season. I honestly hope that they are able to sta under 9-7 and get some decent draft position for 09. The Denver D is just way too bad on any given week. Denver must overhaul their entire secondary which will start with the Draft and need some playmakers on the Dline from FA.

    Predictions:
    @Jets L 6-6
    KC W 7-6
    @Carolina L 7-7
    Buffalo L 7-8
    @ San Diego L 7-9

    Final record 7-9

  • kerry

    yep another one to deflect the topic off the fact this team is terrible. must have took lessons from Shanahan in the whole “passing of the blame onto everybody else” subject.

  • AKscott

    well kerry that’s a valid point.. but then you can always go to the who was doing the drafting during that time arguement.. was it sundquist was it shanny?? and really i dont care to get into that one.. who really knows to be honest.
    We’ll know after next year.. Shanny hit on some good picks this year, including a solid defensive player (larsen), and we’ll see what next year has in store. I honestly believe we’re on the right track.

  • Rob Bronco

    I knew you wouldn’t have a response. My guess is that Kerry never actually played football (or any other sport for that matter). He’s got all kinds of bad things to say about the coaching, but no solutions. What are you going to do if they replace Shanahan and they don’t improve? Are you headed down to the flea market to buy your Raiders jersey, Kerry? They are pretty consistent. Maybe you can be a Chargers fan? At least they make it to the playoffs every now and then. Or maybe you can try to resurrect the XFL and create your perfect league where every team wins and no one loses. Sounds like lots of fun.

    It’s sad to know that there are uneducated fans like you tainting the Broncos gene pool.

  • jchase8410

    With all this talk of firing mike, I have to ask the same thing tom jackson asked the eagles fans who want Andy Reid fired…If we fire Shanahan, who do we hire? Bill Cowher? He is already going to another team next year. Who else out there has as many wins under their belt…Can we go out and find a better coach than Shanny? No doubt there are other coaches, but are they better coaches? I doubt it.

  • kerry

    oh man dont you get tired of saying “oh lets see what happens next year?” who are we the Chicago Cubs? its been ten years. and every offseason all i hear from Shanny and his cult followers is how “we are on the right track” and ” we have made improvements” after ten years those “improvements” and being on the right path should have bore fruit by now. ten years of mediocrity. as loyal fans we have to demand a team that can challenge for a title. not just barely have a winning record every year. an average of 9-7 doesnt equal Lombardi Trophies. and thats the bottomline, winning the title.

  • kerry

    Rob Bronco,

    im the uneducated fan?? all you have is the ability to resort to talking about me and my opinions. when in fact you present no type of actual fact about the state of this football team and their inconsistancies of the past ten years. all you do is pass the blame and divert the attention of how bad this team is. nice try though. and you like all Shanny apologists come up with the argument of “oh well who would you replace him with” you can resort to your little petty insults because thats all you have. you clearly have showed you have no knowledge of the game but to say “oh who would you replace him with” HAHAHAHAHA. the typical shanny lemming response.

  • Rob Bronco

    Maybe you need to read my responses a little more, kerry. You’re telling us that replacing Shanahan is the answer. Prove it. Tell us your plan, then. Tell us who you bring in. C’mon. Lots of people have asked you that question. But the truth is, you don’t have a response. And the reason you don’t have a response is because you don’t know what you’re talking about. If you did, you would have a response to the question. Call me (or us) a lemming all you want, but you still aren’t offering an answer to our question. And until you do, you’re just another fool who doesn’t understand the complexities of sports.

  • Rob Bronco

    YES!! Chargers lose!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Bobby

    Adam Vinaterri (sp?)…you are my hero

  • AKscott

    wonderful playcall on 4th and inches..

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