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ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Jack Del Rio's signature win as Oakland Raiders head coach came in his kind of game. It was physical and gritty, the kind of "beat the guy in front of you'' philosophy he has espoused since being hired as coach of the Raiders.
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The moment after a 15-12 win over the Denver Broncos was caught on film by the Raiders website.
"What a fantastic effort . . . 60 minutes, boys,'' Del Rio said. "I'll tell you what I'm so proud of each and every man in here. The question was really simple. Do we believe? Hell of an effort. Grit everywhere. Tough, hard-fought, well-deserved. It'll be a great flight home."
It was unlike any game the Raiders had won this year because it came almost entirely because of their defense. The offense had minus-12 yards in the first half -- statisticians were scurrying to find out if that had ever happened before -- but struck for a pair of Derek Carr touchdown passes on the second half.
The Raiders, trailing 12-0 at halftime, won by holding Denver to four Brandon McManus field goals, and they shut out the Broncos in the second half. Linebacker/defensive end Khalil Mack was devastating, with all five of his sacks coming in the second half.
After the Raiders had been dominated in terms of yardage in the first half but were within striking distance on the scoreboard, players said Del Rio's demeanor was calm and confident.
"Jack came in really upbeat, smiling. He asked everybody, 'Do we believe in one another?' and everybody screamed, 'Yeah,' '' safety Charles Woodson said. "In the second half we played like we believed in one another and each phase played a role in the win.''
Mack, whose pass rush helped the Raiders shut out Denver in the second half, also pointed to the head coach.
"He knew we could make that push in the second half,'' Mack said. "He believed in us. Coach Jack don't let anything much get to him. He keeps his confidence, keeps his poise. He's got a swagger about him. Just knowing he believes in us gave us that push.
"Coach Jack, man. You talk about a leader. He's a great leader for us, man. It was big for us to get this one.''
Del Rio said his instructions were succinct and to the point.
"The message was, 'I believe. We believe. Let's go out and show that we believe with our effort,''' Del Rio said. "We came here to play a full 60 minutes, and let's make sure we give them a full 60 minutes. And I thought we did that.''
REPORT CARD VS. BRONCOS
--PASSING OFFENSE: C plus. As far as consistency and moving the chains, it was a failing effort. But Derek Carr managed to break through with a pair of touchdown passes (11 yards to Seth Roberts, 16 yards to Michael Rivera) that meant the difference in the game. He threw no interceptions. All the other issues blend to the background because of the final result.
--RUSHING OFFENSE: F. Ouch. The Raiders gained 27 yards on 23 carries and had just one rushing first down. A rushing touchdown by Latavius Murray was negated by a penalty. Murray had 27 yards on 16 carries with a long gain of 7. It was like running into a wall all day.
--PASS DEFENSE: B. Brock Osweiler had his way with short passing in the first half but never got the Broncos into the end zone. He was 35 of 51 for 308 yards, but was sacked five times (all of them by Khalil Mack) and fumbled the ball in the end zone for a safety. The Raiders were helped by some key Denver dropped passes.
--RUSH DEFENSE: A. Denver wanted desperately to stretch and cut the Raiders with their zone scheme, but managed only 34 yards on 21 carries. Lead back Ronnie Hillman had 20 yards on 12 carries. Osweiler had 10 yards on three carries and a first down on a keeper. Denver got nowhere after showing some life running the ball in recent weeks.
--SPECIAL TEAMS: A. Even with a missed 43-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski (with a high snap), punter Marquette King's career-best day kept the Broncos pinned with their backs to the end zone. King pinned Denver inside the 20 five times in 10 punts without a touchback. He had a 46.0 average and a 44.3 net. Jeremy Ross had a 22-yard punt return.
--COACHING: A. Jack Del Rio's "we believe" halftime speech after the Raiders trailed only 12-0 on four field goals at halftime hit a chord. The Raiders, despite a big loss last week against the Chiefs that virtually (if not mathematically) ended their playoff hopes, showed an amazing amount of grit in taking down a 10-win team on the road and ending an eight-game losing streak to Denver. An offensive team correctly went conservative late in the second half and it paid off. They read the game the right way.
