There is no joy in Mudville following Sunday's game between the Oakland Raiders and the Denver Broncos. The Raiders were handed a stunning 38-24 defeat by Tim Tebow's team. Twice in the game the Raiders held a ten-point lead, but ended up dropping a game to a team they were largely favored against. Let's take a closer look at some key numbers and see if we can find any clues as to what went wrong.
New quarterback Carson Palmer had a fairly decent game, all things considered. He was 19-for-35 with 332 passing yards and three touchdowns. He had well over twice as many passing yards as did Tebow and nearly twice as many complete passes. The big difference between the two passers was the whopping three interceptions thrown by Palmer. Tebow, perhaps in a shock to his critics, did not throw a single pick. To Palmer's credit, none of the interceptions was a pick-six. Palmer's interceptions were the only turnovers in the game, which did not bode well for Oakland.
Denver also picked up the only defensive or special teams touchdown of the game on an 85 yard punt return by Eddie Royal that gave the Broncos the lead with just 5:33 remaining in the fourth quarter. They never looked back.
The Raiders gave it their best shot during their time with the ball but things never completely came together. Michael Bush had 19 carries for 96 rushing yards. Bush also contributed on the receiving side, with two catches for 33 yards and a touchdown. Jacoby Ford had the biggest game for Oakland receivers, nabbing five catches for 105 yards with a long of 34 and a touchdown.