Oh how easily the narrative can change. After one loss — one bad loss — Brock Osweiler has somehow gone from the Broncos’ offensive savior to their leading liability.
The knee-jerk reactions are easy to make and even easier to share nowadays. But they’re not always accurate.
So, instead of turning to the subjective, let’s home in on the objective: the stats.
Here are some of the more telling numbers from the Broncos’ loss to Oakland on Sunday, and from their last four weeks, when Osweiler has been their starting quarterback.
126: The Broncos’ defense held the Raiders to only 126 net offensive yards. More remarkable: Denver still lost. The last time a team gave up 126 or fewer yards to an opponent and lost was 2009, when the Jets gave up 104 to Miami in a 30-25 defeat.
2: Chris Harris, one of the most vocal Broncos players after their loss Sunday, allowed only two of six targets to be completed in coverage. Since November 2013, Harris has not allowed a touchdown by a player he’s covered. That streak is still very much alive.
70: Khalil Mack’s five-sack game put him atop the NFL’s 2015 sack leaderboard with 14. But his 68 total pressures this season are two shy of the league-high, held by Von Miller and the Jets’ Muhammad Wilkerson, . Miller recorded his 10th sack of the season in Sunday’s loss, and and a batted pass.
2.68: First a disclaimer: Time to throw must be taken in context. Brock Osweiler has needed 2.68 seconds to release the ball after a snap, ranking 24th among starting quarterbacks. Peyton Manning leads all quarterbacks, with 2.31 seconds, but the Broncos’ offense was also very different with Manning at the helm.
2: DeMarcus Ware reiterated after Sunday’s loss that turnovers often decide a game. The Broncos’ defense, while stifling, didn’t create any against Oakland. Denver, however, gave up two fumbles — one by Demaryius Thomas, the other by Emmanuel Sanders on a muffed punt catch. In the first 12 games of the season, the offense gave up only one.
51: Brock Osweiler threw 51 passes Sunday and had zero passing touchdowns, making him the first quarterback in more than two years to throw at least 50 times for zero TDs. The last to do it? Andy Dalton, in a Bengals loss to Miami on Oct. 31, 2013.
17: In 170 pass attempts this season, Osweiler has been sacked 17 times. As noted Sunday night, that’s a sack rate of 9.09 percent. Manning was sacked 15 times in his 322 attempts, for a 4.45 percent sack rate.
17: Manning leads the league with 17 picks this season. Manning hasn’t played since the third quarter of Week 10, against Kansas City on Nov. 15.
OAKLAND QUOTABLES
I’m dedicating a section solely to the Raiders’ postgame comments because they earned it. Truly enlightening stuff here:
• Derek Carr, on the Raiders’ minus-12 yards in the first half: “That’s not the recipe for success for us.”
• Carr, on Mack’s performance: “I’m glad he’s on my team, glad they picked him first.”
• Jack Del Rio on the Raiders’ offense in the first half: “They were playing well, and we weren’t playing well offensively at that point.”
• Del Rio on offensive changes made: “We made some adjustments. We always do.”
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Nuggets guard Monday night against Houston.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
You know who’s 20 today? Jahlil Okafor, that’s who.
Nicki Jhabvala: njhabvala@denverpost.com or @NickiJhabvala
