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A tumultuous Week Six for the Raiders started with head coach Jon Gruden’s resignation and it ended with a resounding win in Denver.
Interim head coach Rich Bisaccia said he wanted the team to treat Gruden’s departure as a “bump in the road” and that he wanted them to focus on their game against the Broncos despite the distraction created by the release of Gruden’s offensive emails to former Washington team president Bruce Allen. That message was echoed by the team’s players this week and they showed that they were able to do that on Sunday afternoon.
Derek Carr threw for 341 yards and two touchdowns, Maxx Crosby had three sacks of Teddy Bridgewater, and the Raiders picked up a 34-24 win. The victory snapped a two-game losing streak and leaves the Raiders with a share of first place in the AFC West with a 4-2 record.
Carr opened the game with a 48-yard touchdown strike to Henry Ruggs and hit Ruggs for a 40-yarder later in the game to set up a Josh Jacobs touchdown. He also hooked up with Kenyan Drake for a 31-yard score and Drake added a rushing touchdown in his most productive day as a Raider.
Jacobs and Drake combined to run 20 times for 87 yards as the Raiders consistently found success on offense. They matched that effort by overwhelming Bridgewater on defense.
Bridgewater padded his numbers once the Raiders went up three scores in the fourth quarter, but he was sacked five times, threw three interceptions, and missed open receivers more than once over the course of the afternoon. The most damning of those misses was a deep shot to a wide open Courtland Sutton and the overall performance was enough to make you wonder if more of the same in the next few weeks will lead to Drew Lock getting a chance to start.
The Broncos will be in Cleveland to try to halt their losing streak next week. The Raiders will be home to host the Eagles in their final game before their bye week.
