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Dec 7, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Denver Broncos running back RJ Harvey (12) carries the ball as. Las Vegas Raiders safety Lonnie Johnson Jr. (32) defends during the first half at Allegiant Stadium. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Good, Bad, & Ugly from Broncos' 24-17 Win Over Raiders

Originally posted on Denver Broncos on SI
By Chad Jensen | Last updated Dec 7, 2025 10:00 PM ET

The Denver Broncos are on a roll. In the wake of their 24-17 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, the Broncos have prevailed in 10 straight games.

The enormity of that feat, considering the relative youth of the roster and some of the injury obstacles the Broncos have had to overcome, is striking. It shouldn't be taken lightly.

The Broncos moved to 11-2 on the season, with a tight grip on the AFC West. Week 14's win at Allegiant Stadium also secured the No. 1 seed for Denver, despite the on-bye New England Patriots sharing their record. Denver deepened its tiebreakers over New England by vanquishing the Raiders twice.

As we continue sifting through the aftermath of the Broncos' fifth straight road win, it's time to roll up our sleeves, and unflinchingly examine the good, the bad, and the ugly from Week 14's performance.

The Good: Rushing Resurgence

The Broncos didn't exactly blow out the Raiders, although the 10 garbage-time points allowed rendered this yet another one-score victory. However, a better reflection of just how much the Broncos dominated this game offensively is the time-of-possession margin.

The Broncos possessed the ball for 39:03 to to the Raiders' 20:57. All three of Denver's scoring drives consumed at least eight minutes of clock. That's not easy to do.

What helped the Broncos move the chains, including on third down (58%) was the efficiency of the ground game, which is a new development in the post-J.K. Dobbins era. RJ Harvey produced 100 scrimmage yards and scored his ninth touchdown of the season, rushing for 75 yards on 17 carries.

For the first time since Dobbins went down, Harvey finished with a yards-per-carry average north of four yards (4.4 avg). The rookie second-round ran hard, picked his holes right (for the most part), and fought for the extra yards.

In support of Harvey, Tyler Badie and Jaleel McLaughlin produced well, averaging 4.0 and 5.5 yards per carry, respectively. Throw in Bo Nix's savvy scrambling, and the Broncos' ground attack produced 152 of the team's 326 total yards.

Considering how things are about to stiffen in what remains of the season, that's a (very) good development.

The Bad: Penalty Relapse

After only five penalties last week against the Washington Commanders, it seemed that Sean Payton's bye-week resolution to minimize the Broncos' penalty penchant was going to succeed. Alas, the Broncos had eight penalties in Vegas, returning to their pre-Week 13 average.

Those eight penalties cost the Broncos 50 yards and kept the Raiders on the field. It seems to be a sunk-cost type of thing with this team, as if it's just part of the Broncos' tapestry, but so long as there are games to be played, there's an opportunity to fix it.

Better teams, like the Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, and Los Angeles Chargers, will do more than Raiders did to make the Broncos pay for it.

The Ugly: Drops & Bobbles

Some Broncos fans would argue that the defense's leaky performance in back-to-back weeks might be more deserving, but for how much longer can Payton's offense survive this many dropped passes?

Troy Franklin let a would-be deep strike from Nix go through his hands, and his 4th-&-3 bobble late in the second quarter erased the possibility of points on a promising drive that had penetrated Raiders' territory.

The Broncos entered Week 14 with the second-most dropped passes in the NFL. Drops are part of the game, and they add up over the course of a season.

You wonder what Nix's numbers would look like if the Broncos had even half the number of drops they do this season. We'll never know what the true potential of this passing offense could be until Payton can get to the bottom of why his team has such a propensity for dropping balls.

The Takeaway

At the end of the day, the Broncos won this game handily. They led from the start, and the score obviously makes this game look way closer than it was.

The Broncos pretty much dominated the Raiders in their 2025 rematch, clinching the sweep of their bitter division rival in back-to-back seasons, but this should have been a 31-7 margin. The Broncos keep finding ways to win, and they deserve all the credit for that, but they continue to leave a lot of yards and points on the field.