Khalil Mack, Raiders sack Broncos to raise Peyton Manning question

DENVER – Breaking down the Oakland Raiders' 15-12 win against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

Big picture: The Broncos blew a chance to move into first place in the AFC after surrendering a 12-point halftime lead to the Raiders. Instead, the Broncos head into a road game against the surging Pittsburgh Steelers needing to find answers for their slumping offense after backup quarterback Brock Osweiler suffered his first loss since replacing Peyton Manning a month ago. With Manning nearing his return to practice, what looked like it would be an easy decision to stick with Osweiler might be less clear now. The Broncos offense hasn’t scored a touchdown since the first quarter against the San Diego Chargers last week, and was particularly ineffective Sunday against the Raiders, setting for four field goals in the first half and then shut out completely after halftime. The Raiders, meanwhile, remain a longshot for the AFC wild card, but this was perhaps their most impressive win of the season. The Raiders rallied back from a 12-0 halftime deficit, and got huge contributions from the 2014 draft class stars, quarterback Derek Carr and pass rusher Khalil Mack.

Key moment: Shortly after Denver’s Emmanuel Sanders muffed a punt deep in Broncos’ territory, Carr threw a dagger of a touchdown pass to tight end Mychal Rivera to give the Raiders their first lead of the game. It was Carr’s second touchdown pass of the game. Though both teams had chances to score later in the fourth quarter, Rivera’s touchdown proved to be the difference.

Key player: Second-year Raiders linebacker Khalil Mack wrecked the game in the second half with five sacks on Osweiler, bringing his season total to 14, including 10 in the past five games. Mack terrorized Denver’s offensive tackles, and he also directly contributed to points when he also forced a fumble in the end zone late in the third quarter that resulted in a safety to cut the Broncos' lead to 12-9.

What were they thinking?: When the Raiders scored a touchdown to take their first lead of the game early in the fourth quarter, head coach Jack Del Rio made the head-scratching decision to attempt a two-point conversion. If successful, it would have given the Raiders a five-point lead, meaning the Broncos needed a touchdown to take a lead. But Carr’s pass fell incomplete, keeping the Raiders’ lead at three points and allowing them to stay within a field goal of tying the game. The Raiders later announced that long snapper Jon Condo was evaluated for a shoulder injury, likely suffered while recovering a muffed punt, and did not have a backup available. The move almost cost the Raiders when the Broncos had a chance to tie, but Brandon McManus’ 49-yard attempt hit the left upright.

Crazy stat: The Raiders had negative-12 yards of offense in the first half – the fewest in a first half since at least 1991. Oakland had positive rushing yards in the first half (5), but Carr had negative-17 passing yards thanks to a pair of sacks, one each by the Broncos' Von Miller and Derek Wolfe.

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