Banged-up Broncos defense a sudden question mark after loss to Raiders
OAKLAND — For at least a year, the Denver Broncos have been able to rely on their defense to overcome issues elsewhere.
So what happens when the defense becomes an issue?
The Broncos head back to Denver after a 30-20 loss to the Oakland Raiders trying to answer that question. Denver’s vaunted defense allowed 218 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns and recorded only two sacks — one of which went for zero yards following a quarterback scramble.
"Our goal is, every week, to be the best defense on the field, and we weren’t today," cornerback Chris Harris said.
The run defense is particularly troubling, Harris said.
A week after allowing San Diego’s Melvin Gordon to rush for 111 yards, the Raiders gashed the Broncos for 5.1 yards per carry.
"Man, that’s something we have to fix. It’s been leaky pretty much all season," Harris said. "We have to figure that out and really put an emphasis on that and get back to doing what we do."
Getting healthy would help that, especially in the secondary after starting cornerback Aqib Talib missed his second consecutive game with a back injury.
But the Broncos got pushed around by a more physical Raiders offensive line — and there’s no quick fix for that.
"We’re not perfect. We were great last year in some stretches," linebacker Brandon Marshall said. "We just got to get back to the drawing board, fight and just practice hard."
Follow Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones.
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