Don’t be fooled by close game that progress is being made

Remember when Thursday night games were awful?

Now you do.

The Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos turned back the clock and proceeded to put together one of, if not, the worst NFL games of the season in a game that rudely reminded us of the early days of Thursday night slates.

The Broncos are the better team, thus they were able to overcome their major mistakes as the beat the floundering Raiders 10-7 on Thursday night.

The Raiders are now 2-7 and have lost nine straight AFC West games. They are awful under first-season coach Pete Carroll and Thursday night was a prime example that this team is mot making progress.

Sure, some may say a three-point road loss to an 8-2 team that won its seventh straight game was a good showing. It wasn’t.

The Broncos killed themselves on offense. But they saved themselves on defense.

the Raiders were their usual bumbling selves. Here’s a cute rundown of their follies:

An interception on a lazy play by first-round pick Ashton Jeanty, a blocked punt inside their own 20, a penalty negated touchdown, a game-tying missed field goal in the final five minutes.

The Raiders are just a bad team. They weren’t going to beat a better team like that.

Oh and check this out. Both teams had 10 first downs and 11 penalties. That’s first time since 1976 when the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks were featured in a game with both teams have more penalties than first downs.

Utter ugliness to start Week 10.

Here are some key aspects of this disaster:

Injuries pile up:

Both guards, Jackson Powers-Johnson and Dylan Parham left the game in the second quarter with ankle injuries. After the game, Carroll indicated that Powers-Johnson will miss some time. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he ends up on the injured reserve. Remember, left tackle Kolton Miller has been on the injured reserve for more than a month. Quarterback Geno Smith suffered a quad contusion and he left the game some in the fourth quarter. He returned but he was limping badly. Still, Carroll thinks he will be fine moving forward.

Offensive woes:

Remember, when the Raiders got fans excited four days ago when they scored a season-high 29 points? That was fun. It was back to the same old thing under offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. This was the fourth time in nine games that the Raiders scored 10 or less points this season. Star tight end Brock Bowers had just one catch for 31 yards after having 12 on Sunday. Jeanty had another rough running out as he had 60 yards on 189 carries. He has averaged less than four yards per carry in seven of nine games. The Raiders had seven straight drives that they didn’t get a first down, spanning 28-plus minutes. Plus, Smith was sacked six times. Just a brutal night for the offense. Again.

Tough day for rookie receivers:

Rookie wide receivers Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton were on the field for the first play in the Raiders’ first game after trading Jakobi Meyers to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Thornton didn’t play last week. Both Bech and Thornton negated big plays with penalties, including a touchdown. Thornton also had a big drop. Thornton had one catch for four yards and Bech didn’t have any. These two players have room to grow, but they’re clearly not ready. The Raiders were led by by 22-year-old Tyler Lockett’s five catches on 44 yards. The point is, if Bowers isn’t involved, the Raiders have an anemic receiving attack.

Oh, special teams:

It’s been a rough season for the Raiders on special teams and it was more of the same Thursday night. Yes, punter A.J. Cole didn’t his thing, pinning the Broncos inside their 1 twice, but there was another blocked punt that setup the game-winning field goal. Then, Raiders’ kicker Daniel Carlson missed a 48-yard field goal with 4:26 that would have tied the game. The Broncos killed the game from there. Carlson has five missed kicks (PATs and field goals) this season. He is a free agent and the Raiders could let him walk.

Blu Kelly makes case:

Rookie Darien Porter started in front of Kyu Blu Kelly for the second straight game. But Blu Kelly had both of the Raiders; interceptions, so he is fighting for playing time.

Another good defensive start:

The Raiders’ defense forced yet another three-and-out on their first drive of the game. The Raiders also forced a three-and-out on Denver’s first four drives. The last time they did that was in 2016 against the Broncos. The Broncos got their first first down with 5:50 to go in the first half Thursday night.