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The Broncos got on the board first and it took them just one drive. They drove 74 yards on the opening drive to score a touchdown. The Raiders had no semblance of a pass rush on the drive which allowed Peyton Manning to pick them apart to go 6 of 8 for 74 yards including the touchdown pass to tight end Joel Dreessen.
The Raiders came back to score as well. Although, it wasn't a touchdown. It was set up by a 31-yard pass from Palmer to Marcel Reece and helped set up a Janikowski 38-yard field goal.
The biggest issues thus far are the lack of a pass rush by the Raiders and the Broncos' tight ends. Jacob Tamme was the Broncos' leading receiver with 4 catches for 34 yards. The Broncos only ran the ball six times in the first quarter compared to 17 Manning passes. He finished the half going 17 of 22 for 196 yards.
The Raiders were able to hold the Broncos to a field goal in the second quarter. But a bit of lunacy occurred which made things interesting.
The Broncos looked to be headed for another when Manning hit Demaryius Thomas on a short pass he took for a long distance. But while trying to switch hands with the ball, Thomas dropped it and the Raiders recovered. Then after a Raiders' three and out, the Broncos go the ball and drove into field goal range. They lined up for a field goal and went with a fake which the Raiders covered well for an incompletion.
The Raiders then drove into field goal rang themselves thanks in part to 37-yard sideline pass from Palmer to Denarius Moore. They couldn't finish off the drive with a touchdown but added another three points to head into halftime down 10-6.
Willis McGahee has rushed 8 times for 40 yards (5.0 yards per carry).
Palmer went 9-13 for 142 yards and Darren McFadden has nine rushes for 23 yards (2.6 yards per carry). Marcel Reece is the Raiders' leading receiver with four catches for 58 yards.
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