The (5-0) Denver Broncos didn’t score an offensive touchdown in Sunday’s 16-10 win over the Oakland Raiders, but the league’s No. 1-ranked defense held its opponent to just 288 total yards and the team remains undefeated heading into Week 6.
On offense, however, there were few bright spots to speak of. You’d have thought Manning and the Broncos would finally get on track against the league’s 25th-ranked defense, as the Raiders have allowed 382.4 yards per game this season.
But they didn’t. The running game was nonexistent, as C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman combined for 18 carries and only 43 yards. The passing game was a bit better, but not much, as Manning completed 22 of 35 passes for 266 yards. He did, however, toss two interceptions to Charles Woodson, who hadn’t picked Manning off once during the entirety of his 18-year career heading into Sunday’s game.
Manning knows the Broncos need to get better on the offensive side of the ball if they want to make a Super Bowl run, and after Sunday’s game he said they need to play better, himself included.
“We want to play better offensively, we want to do our job and somehow, someway, it’s about helping the Denver Broncos get a win,” Manning said, via the Broncos official website. “But there’s no question, offensively, we certainly want to play better. We’re going to stay committed to it, and everybody wants to try to do a better job and that certainly starts with me. I want to do a better job and do a better job playing quarterback to help our team get into the end zone more.”
The Broncos struggled immensely in the red zone on Sunday, which is uncharacteristic of a Manning-led team. The team failed to score a touchdown in three trips down there, but Manning remains optimistic.
“I think we’re doing some good things. We’re moving the ball,” he said. “It would be one thing if we weren’t getting down there at all. So we’re able to get the ball down there. We’ve got to find a way. Like I said, I think a couple close plays here or there and probably we’d have some touchdowns.”
Whether or not the Broncos will fix their offensive issues remains to be seen. Lucky for them, they reaped the benefit of going up against the league’s 25th-ranked defense in Week 5, and next Sunday are set to square off with the Browns who rank 30th (400.4 yards per game). Now is the time to work out the kinks and get the offense clicking again.