Postgame quotes from the coaches and players following the Denver Broncos‘ 19-20 loss to the Oakland Raiders Sunday.

DENVER BRONCOS HEAD COACH JOSH MCDANIELS

General

“I give the Raiders credit. We knew coming in, it would be a good, tough-fought hard division game, similar to the first one. They certainly did more than we did at the line of scrimmage. They took advantage of the opportunities down low in the red zone, we struggled to do that. Any time you have to kick field goals in a game it’s going to be close, it’s going to be costly in the end. They made a few more plays than we did and I give the coach credit. And their staff, they did a nice job and had a good game plan and I give them credit, we have to go back to work.”

On the Raiders running game

“They have good backs. We didn’t play the running game nearly as well as we would’ve liked to. There’s no question about that. They had a bunch of big runs and that was really key. They changed the field position in two or three plays there on two or three drives. We had them backed up at the eleven and three plays later they are in the end zone. Any time you are going to give up 25-30 yard runs or more in a game, those are going to pile up on you. I think they may have had half their yards on four carries. We didn’t play sound enough. We didn’t play fundamentally as well as we would like to play and they took advantage of it.”

On Kyle Orton’s pass to OT Ryan Clady

“It was a gadget play…I wouldn’t have called if I didn’t think it would work.”

On missing two players at Safety position

“From what I was able to gather during the course of the game I didn’t feel (S) David Bruton let us down at all, he wasn’t a big liability today. That’s not an excuse for the ball to continually get to the secondary. We need to do a better job before it gets there and we didn’t do that today.”

On having to settle for field goals

“We got it down there to the two and I think negative runs first of all, I think the first or second drive there had a negative run, a negative play. Took a sack, had a penalty in the last drive there and at the 2-yard line went backwards again. Any time you end up in the red zone and you end up in second and longer or third and longer, it’s trouble because you don’t have enough space to do a lot in the passing game to try overcome that. We had three shots within the 3-yard line at the end and didn’t get it in. We’ve got to execute better and find a way to punch the ball in there whether it be in the running game or the passing game and we didn’t do that today.”

On if delay of game affecting their play

“It didn’t. It was both teams. It was green light that was hitting players in the face so they were taking every precaution to make sure we were safe out there.”

On the playoff race

“I have no idea what else happened today so I’m not sure I can comment properly on that. You go from being able to win three and get in automatically to now you’ve made it hard on yourself, there is no question. Winning two is the best we can do know. We are going to get ready to play Philadelphia and that is going to be a difficult challenge to go there and play a team that is playing really well right now. ”

On RB Knowshon Moreno’s play

“We’ve got to get more of a running game, not the back. The back’s got to help them, the line’s got to help them, the tight end’s got to do better, the fullback’s got to do better. We can do better. The running’s game is everybody, when it works well, it’s a lot of people working well together and when it doesn’t work well it’s a lot of people that need to do something different. Something a little bit better and today we struggled.”

On Oakland’s game-winning drive

“We were playing tight coverage and trying to take away the things that we thought they would go to, got them in third down situations, one fourth down situation. We also made some really plays, stayed in there and took some hits. I give them credit for coming in the game in the situation late and being able to play well and drive the football down there and make some really key throws. That’s what decides a lot of close division games late in the year. They made the plays in the two-minute drive, we didn’t.”

On running the first play of each drive with RB Knowshon Moreno

“If you have a bad player in the game I don’t think you can just cancel the running game the rest of the day. We have to block better, you’ve got to run better, you’ve got to call better plays. There are a lot of things that go into football to make it work. I’ll be the first one to stand in line to say we have to do a better job.”

On concern about the team’s mental state

“No, every team in the same situation in term of having to deal with all the other distractions. We put ourselves in a situation where we’ve got to win two games and see what happens. There are a lot of teams that aren’t in this situation. If we’re concerned about our mental state now, we’ve got other issues. We’re excited about the opportunity that we have.”

On the decision to go with CB Tony Carter

“Tony’s earned the opportunity, he really has and with what he’s done in practice. I think he represented himself well today and for the most part I don’t know how many balls were thrown at/or caught on him but I know he really played some key plays. I don’t think he did a whole lot today to discourage us. A young guy playing his first National Football League football game and he held up well.”

DENVER BRONCOS PLAYERS

QB KYLE ORTON

On the frustration following the loss to Oakland

“It’s frustrating. Losing at home to a division opponent is frustrating. We had already beat them once this year, and really (when we) started off the game, it looked like it was going to be kind of the same thing. We let them hang around, hang around, and they came back and got us.”

On missed offensive opportunities

“We’ve got to start putting teams away, no question about it. All year, we’ve kind of let teams hang around, and we’ve been fortunate enough to win most of those games. You do it long enough and you don’t put teams away, it comes back to bite you just like it did today.”

On not putting the game out of the Raiders’ reach

“(We had chances to put the game away) early and late. We had a chance to put them away in a four-minute offense (in the fourth quarter). We couldn’t execute and didn’t get anything done. We could’ve scored a touchdown down there at the last goal-line stand and couldn’t get anything done and kicked a field goal from the 2(-yard line). When you do that and you just let teams continue to hang around, I don’t care who they are, they’re going to beat you.”

On not executing in the red zone offensively

“That’s the only problem (in the red zone) is execution. (We’ve had) good play calls, good looks—looks that we practiced against all week—and no execution.”

On if the Broncos overlooked the Raiders

“I prepared for (the Raiders) harder than I have anybody all year, and I know the focus and the effort that we practiced with all week. We knew this was going to be a dogfight, and we knew we had to have it and came up short.”

On not scoring a touchdown with first-and-goal at the Oakland 2-yard line in the fourth quarter

“We knew we had a chance to end it. This is the NFL, and when you’ve got a chance to end games and put them away, you’ve got to do it. This is a prime example of what happens when (you don’t put teams away).”

On having only one big passing play on a 63-yard completion to WR Brandon Stokley in the fourth quarter

“That was a good play. We talked about it on the sideline. We got the look that wanted and we executed that one. That’s great. I wish we could have stuck it in from there. I don’t understand. They’re good in the back end. I’ll give them credit. They’ve got a good secondary, and it’s tough to get away from those guys. Most of your big plays that you see on these guys throughout the year are runs and not necessarily passes. We were hoping for some explosive plays and really didn’t get them, except for the one to Brandon.”

On the Broncos’ red-zone play selection showing a lack of confidence in the short-yardage running game

“I don’t think so. We had the (quarterback) sneak early in the game from third-and-short and converted that one. (We) didn’t get the next one. No, I don’t think it was the lack of confidence in the running game. I think our running game has done pretty well, for the most part. Obviously, we’ve struggled in short yardage—I would say that we’re searching. We’re trying to find something that works down there. We’re not just sitting here beating our head against the wall. We’re trying to find things that will work, and it’s just not happening right now.”

On the implications of next week’s game at Philadelphia

“We put ourselves in this predicament, so we’ve got to get ourselves out of it. (There’s) only one way to do that, and that’s work your butt off and work harder than you have all year to make sure that you’re ready to play come Sunday, and I know we will be.”

S DAVID BRUTON

On the penalties

“They just kept their drive alive. We just kept moving the ball for them when we had them stopped. The penalties just kept them alive.”

On Oakland’s quarterback change

“It didn’t change anything, we treat every quarterback the same. They all have the same tendencies. [QB Charlie] Frye is the more athletic one, and we knew that [QB] JaMarcus Russell wasn’t going to leave the pocket as much, so they might not use as many boots. But we stuck with the same game plan.”

On the atmosphere in the locker room

“The atmosphere is low. Guys are not happy with the way things turned out. We should have pulled it out. We played well in the first game against them this year. We wanted to come out with a victory.”

On a possible playoff berth

“We still have a chance. We feel that if we would have won this game and the next game, we would have been able to control our own fate instead of putting it in someone else’s hands.”

TE DANIEL GRAHAM

On the game

“They executed and made the plays. We have to do a lot better. We want to get the wins these last two weeks and we have to do a lot better and that is going to start tomorrow.”

On playing in Philadelphia next week

“We are not worried about being underdogs. We have to take care of our own business. If we don’t do that then we won’t get the win. We have to put this one behind us and get ready for the next one.”

On confidence level coming into the game

“We were not overconfident. We came in here with a good game plan. They just executed better than we did tonight”

OLB/DE MARIO HAGGAN

On the loss

“It was an important game for us versus a division rival, and we just did not have enough bullets to finish the game. You have to give credit to the Raiders, they came in with a game plan and made more plays than we did to win the game.”

On the Oakland Raiders

“They just made more plays. We had a game plan that was tight and we thought it worked, and it did for most of the game. This game comes down to making more plays than the other team, and obviously today they did that. We just didn’t have enough points at the end of the game.”

On Oakland’s game-winning drive

“It is definitely hard to believe. We still have opportunities to do some things. We have Philadelphia next week. This one right here was in our hands and we had it. It was a situation you want to be in when you try to build a great defense, but today we didn’t prove that we were a great defense at the end. ”

WR BRANDON MARSHALL

On what needs to be improved

“It is the same thing that has been wrong off and on all year. It is a number of things. We have to execute better and just do a better job.”

On the results from the earlier games

“I don’t pay attention to any of that stuff. I think that everyone was focused on our game.”

On how Oakland covered him today

“They doubled me a couple of times, it depended on the down and distance. But they did a good job of just switching up their coverage on me today.”

On struggles in the red zone

“Every game is like that. We have just been mediocre in the red zone and it is killing us.”

On wearing a Chris Henry jersey during warm-ups

“He was just a buddy of mine.”

OAKLAND RAIDERS HEAD COACH TOM CABLE

General

“About that game, that’s about as much of a team effort and a team victory that we’ve had since I’ve been here. I’m very proud of our team. To have all those guys go in and all those bad things happen to us and find a way [to win] talks about how tough we are, our ability to hang together and our trust in each other, and that’s a big deal. This is a heck of a win for the Oakland Raiders; no question about it.”

On Raiders traveling and getting behind at the start of the game

“You know, we’ve talked a lot about this. Guys go down and guys gotta step up — we say that a lot. Today we did that. Gosh, we went through all of our quarterbacks today and [QB] JaMarcus [Russell] came back in after [sustaining an injury] and made two huge throws. Good day running the ball. I thought the defense was spectacular on a lot of drives. I took a chance and didn’t kick the field goal because I thought we could do something down there and we did, and we were able to manage field position for the rest of the game, until the one drive when the defense stopped it for a field goal. We came back out and put a drive together and won the football game. Everyone contributed. Special teams, offense, defense. Guys got knocked down, guys went back in. Again, a great team win for the Oakland Raiders.”

On his faith in Russell at the end of game

“Well, time [remaining] – we had to. Yes, we had to put it in JaMarcus’s hands. I am happy for him to go in there and be able to get a result like that, and make a couple connections with guys and throw a game-winner, and [WR] Chaz [Schilens] makes a great effort to score the touchdown. But I’m really happy for JaMarcus and I think this gives him some life and a breath of fresh air.”

On the quarterback situation after this week

“We’ll have to sort through the bodies on the way home and we’ll decide. QB Charlie [Frye] was playing really well before he got knocked out. If he’s ready to go back he’ll play. If not, we’ll go with JaMarcus but it’s too early to tell.”

On Russell’s performance today

“There were a couple things in there, to be fair to the whole situation. He missed a couple throws that would have changed it earlier, but what he did was he stayed in there and got it and I think that’s the part we should all be excited about. They put some rush to it there at the end and brought a couple guys and were under some pressure there a couple times, especially when we crossed mid-field. But once we got down in there I thought he handled it pretty well. He got some protection and was able to make a play.”

On deciding which running back will receive the most carries each week

“It’s tough, but it’s a good problem. Let’s face it, everybody would be happy to have what we have here [depth at running back position]. If you were anywhere else and you only had [RB] Mike [Bush] or [RB] Darren [McFadden]…fortunately, we have two more [running backs] you can run it to. Those guys block it well, those guys run it hard and it was a good day.”

On Russell’s reaction to replacing Frye

“Kind of the same as always. You guys know him – he’s pretty even-keeled – not high or low. Like I said, he had an opportunity there and some things didn’t go quite right but he stuck with it and hit a couple throws, and the next thing you know he gets one to Chaz, who made a great effort to get it in [for the touchdown].”

On Russell’s demeanor after the game

“Happiness. I gave him the game ball because I think he deserves it. To come out there and rebound from a couple of drives that weren’t very good, and then hit one at the end to win it. I’m very proud of him, I’m proud of him.”

On earning a win on the road in Denver late in the season

“We’re getting better as a football team. I think you can all see that. What did they [Broncos] rush for…80 yards? It’s pretty easy to be able to manage that. We’re getting much better. Less big plays [against us]. We’re getting a little better: inch-by-inch. On third downs we’re getting better. What I like, and the reason I think we won today is we give a damn about each other and we have some trust going on, and we’re trying to all pull the same way. We all believe we’re on the verge of getting it where we want it to be.”

OAKLAND RAIDERS PLAYERS

QB JAMARCUS RUSSELL

On returning to the game after his injury

“Nothing against [QB] J.P. [Losman], but no doubt you want to be out there. I knew I had to be there for the rest of the team.”

On the final drive

“We looked each other in the eye and knew it was time to fight. We were talking about that coming into the game too; that we had to stick together and it really showed.”

On criticism he has taken this season

“Everybody has opinions, but as long as my teammates have faith in me, it’s alright. There will always be tough times, but you have got to fight through them.”

On his game-winning touchdown pass to WR Chaz Schilens

“It was an inside-out read and if everything fails, go to Chaz. He’s a big guy and we knew he was going to fight to get into the endzone.”

On if he expected to play before the game

“The coaches always told me to be prepared because you are always only one play away.”

On RB Michael Bush

“With all the backs that we have anyone can be the guy that steps up. We have a good running game and he was the guy today.”

On beating the Broncos

“Every win is special, but it’s always special when it is a rivalry game like this.”

WR CHAZ SCHILENS

On his game-winning touchdown catch

“We ran that play eight or nine times this game; we had a match-up we liked. [QB] JaMarcus [Russell] threw a perfect ball and I was able to catch it then score.”

“They were just trying to press me in the slot, and they kept doing that and I knew that I could get inside.”

On the win

“It means a lot to us. We beat a good team today and we’ve beaten good teams, but people still underestimate us. We need to play more consistently, and we’ll win a lot more games.”

On QB JaMarcus Russell

“He was focused and he put that drive together. He got the job done and I think that is what is most important, that we won.”

CB STANFORD ROUTT

On his fourth quarter tackle of WR Brandon Stokley that saved a touchdown

“You just have to go get him. You never let someone just run in the endzone. I didn’t realize that was a penalty, but he didn’t get hurt. I just grabbed him and tried to bring him down.”

QB CHARLIE FRYE

On his injury

“I knew we were double pressed to the left and I wanted to run a go on the right. My buddy from Cleveland, [ILB] Andra [Davis] came up the middle and got me pretty good and my head hit the ground. The league is putting a lot of emphasis on head injuries, and with good reason. Obviously it worked out. [QB] JaMarcus [Russell] came in and played great and [WR] Chaz [Schilens] caught the touchdown; you couldn’t have written a better script.”

On his first start of the season

“Once I ran that keeper [26 yard run on last play of first quarter] I felt like alright, let’s go. I expected that coming in though. I wanted to get a drive going in the first quarter to get into a rhythm.”

On his interception

“I made the signal too late and [WR] Johnnie [Lee Higgins] wasn’t looking in, so [CB] Champ [Bailey] got a freebie on that one.”

On the running game

“The guys were doing such a good job up front. [RB Michael] Bush and all the other guys were doing such a good job that it made it easy for me.”