/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/4563339/20121206_kkt_st3_036.0.jpg)
The Oakland Raiders got their star running back, Darren McFadden on the field again after a four week absence, but it simply wasn't enough to win, or even compete with the Denver Broncos. Peyton Manning took advantage of the Raiders' weak secondary while running back Knowshon Moreno ate up clock and yards all night long. Meanwhile, the Raiders offense could not get much going all night long and continued to be plagued by turnovers.
As the teams headed to the locker room at half time, the Raiders found themselves still in the game, trailing 13-7. But in the third quarter, Manning and the Broncos scored 17 unanswered points and put an end to any hopes the Raiders had of pulling off the upset. The Raiders defense did its best to keep the team in the game in the first half, but the offense could not even stay on the field, let alone score and it wasn't long before the defense began wearing down.
The Raiders only ran 47 plays on offense against Denver on Thuraday night. As a comparison, Peyton Manning threw the ball 36 times and Moreno ran the ball 32 times. While the final score was 26-13, it was apparent to most who watched that Denver took its foot off the pedal and the score was not indicative of how big of a difference there was in the quality of play for the two teams.