O'Connell, White and pass rush lead Raiders to 27-14 win over Broncos in season finale
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Aidan O'Connell passed for 244 yards and two touchdowns, Zamir White rushed for 112 yards and a relentless Las Vegas pass rush helped the Raiders continue their dominance over the Denver Broncos with a 27-14 victory Sunday.
This was the Raiders' eighth consecutive victory over their AFC West rivals and 10th in 11 games. That included a 4-0 record in Las Vegas.
Both teams ended their season at 8-9 and out of the playoffs with a number of questions facing both franchises. That includes whether Raiders own Mark Davis makes interim Antonio Pierce the full-time coach or searches for someone outside the organization. Las Vegas went 5-4 since Pierce replaced Josh McDaniels on Halloween night, and fans chanted “AP!” toward the end of the game.
O'Connell overcame a injury to the index finger on his throwing hand — he didn't play the Raiders' first drive of the second half — to complete a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jakobi Meyers on the first play of the fourth quarter to put the Raiders ahead 24-7.
Meyers also scored a TD in the second quarter, turning what was designed to be a wide receiver pass to a 5-yard run when the play broke down.
Teammate Davante Adams reached 100 catches for the fourth straight season, joining Buffalo’s Stefon Diggs as the only players to accomplish that over the same span. Antonio Brown, who had six such consecutive seasons with Pittsburgh from 2013-18, holds the NFL record.
Las Vegas committed no penalties, the second time that has happened this season. The Raiders also weren't penalized Nov. 26 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham made his second start in a row in favor of the benched Russell Wilson. Stidham passed for 272 yards with a TD and interception and was sacked five times and hit 11 times. He quarterbacked the Raiders over their final two games last season in place of Derek Carr, who also was benched.
After the teams traded lengthy first-half touchdown drives, Las Vegas took the lead for good on a 49-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson and a 3-yard touchdown pass from O'Connell to Adams. The TD occurred with 7 seconds left and capped a 12-play, 98-yard drive that took just 1:36.
INJURIES
Broncos: RT Mike McGlinchey (ribs) was placed on injured reserve on Saturday. ... WR Courtland Sutton (ankle), TE Nate Adkins (concussion), LB Nik Bonitto (calf) and RB Jaleel McLaughlin (calf) were injured during the game. Raiders: RB Josh Jacobs (quadriceps), TE Michael Mayer (toe) and T Thayer Munford (knee/illness) did not play. Jacobs missed the last four games of the season and Mayer the final three. Munford was injured last week at Indianapolis.
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