Broncos Let Late Cover Slip Away as Raiders Rally Behind Backup QB
If you were holding a Broncos -7.5 ticket heading into the final four minutes of Sunday’s game, you probably felt pretty good about your chances. Denver led 24-7, the Raiders were down to their backup quarterback, and Las Vegas hadn’t shown much life offensively. But in a wild twist that only the NFL can deliver, the Raiders managed to sneak in a backdoor cover that flipped the script in the final seconds.
Let’s set the stage: Wil Lutz had just drilled a 23-yard field goal to extend Denver’s lead to 17 with 3:56 left. The Raiders’ offense had been stuck in neutral, punting three times and turning the ball over on downs twice in their last five drives. Starting quarterback Geno Smith was out with a shoulder injury, and the game looked all but decided.
Enter Kenny Pickett.
With the game seemingly out of reach, Pickett stepped in and gave the Raiders a late jolt. He connected with rookie wideout Jack Bech twice, then found tight end Brock Bowers for a 15-yard pickup.
Just like that, Las Vegas was moving. Then came the moment that flipped the betting world upside down - Pickett hit Shedrick Jackson over the middle for a 25-yard touchdown.
It was Jackson’s first career NFL reception, and it cut the Denver lead to 24-14 with 2:17 remaining.
Yes, you read that right - Jackson’s first ever NFL touch went for six.
The Raiders’ onside kick attempt didn’t go anywhere, but they still had all three timeouts and the two-minute warning in their pocket. All Denver had to do was move the chains a couple of times and the cover was theirs.
They got one first down, but when faced with a fourth-and-4 at the Raiders’ 28, they rolled the dice - and came up short. Running back RJ Harvey was stuffed for no gain, giving Las Vegas one last shot with 58 seconds on the clock.
Pickett went back to work, finding Tyler Lockett for a 26-yard gain. A delay-of-game penalty on Denver stopped the clock, and with five seconds left, Daniel Carlson trotted out for a 46-yard field goal attempt.
He drilled it.
The kick was true, the clock hit zero, and the Raiders had pulled off the ultimate backdoor cover. Final score: Broncos 24, Raiders 17.
For Denver bettors, it was a brutal beat. For Las Vegas, it was a small silver lining in a season that’s been trending toward a top draft pick for weeks now.
With the cover, the Raiders move to 4-8-1 against the spread this season - and two of those covers have come against Denver. The Broncos, meanwhile, fall to 2-7 ATS when playing as favorites, continuing a frustrating trend for anyone backing them with confidence.
It’s worth remembering their first meeting back on November 6. Denver won that one 10-7, but also failed to cover as 8.5-point favorites. That game was a grind - 22 penalties, an average of just 3.6 yards per play, and a final kneel-down from Bo Nix inside the Raiders’ 20 to seal it.
This time, it wasn’t a knee that ended it - it was a field goal that meant nothing in the standings, but everything to the spread. And in the world of sports betting, that’s the kind of finish you don’t forget.