The second half of the 2025 NFL regular season kicked off Thursday night in Denver, where the Broncos survived the AFC West-rival Las Vegas Raiders 10-7 in an ugly affair. Or so we’re told … might have slept through most of it, or caught the “Superman” marathon on HBO, or a combination thereof.

But you’re here to be engaged with NFL content and information, not Kryptonite – which is exactly what the football seems to be to Denver’s offense. Oops, digressed again.

Let’s try to identify some winners from this slog and losers (aside from those of us charged with analyzing it):

WINNERS

Broncos' playoff hopes

The AFC West leaders were already in good shape entering the evening – and their situation has improved, ugly wins counting the same as pretty ones. Now 8-2, Denver is slotted as the AFC’s projected No. 1 playoff seed, a half-game ahead of the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots.

Surtain-less secondary

Denver improved to 2-0 without injured CB Patrick Surtain II, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year who’s still recovering from a chest injury. No matter. The Broncos D limited the Raiders to 188 yards while adding six more sacks to their league-leading total (46).

Orange Crush uniforms

The Broncos improved to 4-0 in their 1970s-era throwbacks, which they reinstituted last season. Look good, play good? Eh – but Denver definitely looked good. Might be time to take a hint from the New York Jets − who doesn't take their cues from the 2029 Super Bowl champions? − and make the throwbacks the full-time look. Once again.

Prime Video set

I normally don't pay too much attention to pre- and post-game NFL broadcasts − I mean streams. But I appreciate the crew of Charissa Thompson, Tony Gonzalez, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Andrew Whitworth and Richard Sherman doesn't take itself too seriously − especially when saddled with a game like this. Fitzpatrick and Whitworth spent a good chunk of the post-game show playing Jenga with Amazon tiles rather than drilling down on how bad Denver's offense was.

Punters

Las Vegas’ AJ Cole and Denver’s Jeremy Crawshaw combined for 14 punts that covered nearly 600 yards in Denver's thin air. As a kid who spent a few years in Europe, I can tell you this is the kind of contest local NFL Europa fans went nuts for.

LOSERS

Raiders punter and kicker

It wasn’t a total Commitment to Excellence for Cole and K Daniel Carlson. Cole had a punt blocked deep in Vegas territory with about 90 seconds left in the third quarter. Set up at the Raiders' 12-yard line, the Broncos – unsurprisingly – couldn’t do much with the ball but were close enough to get a 32-yard go-ahead field goal from Wil Lutz. Carlson missed a 48-yard field goal attempt with 4:30 to go that would have tied the game.

Geno Smith

Battered, bruised, frustrated and even seeming to lose his religion with teammate Raheem Mostert, the Raiders quarterback persevered to the end despite playing in obvious pain on a bad leg in the game’s latter stages. Smith is now 2-7 as his new club’s starter.

Offensive football

It was a windy night in the Mile High City. And the Broncos defense is arguably the league’s best and definitively among its elite units. The Raiders D? Not so much – but it played some inspired ball Thursday … helped by a feckless Denver attack. Aside from the 17 points, the teams combined for just 408 yards, three turnovers and 22 penalties – many of the offensive (get it?) variety. The Broncos didn’t generate a first down until roughly five minutes were left in the second quarter.

Bo Nix

The Broncos' second-year quarterback completed 16 of 28 passes for 150 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He wasn't able to offset that passing performance by making an impact in the running game, either. Nix surprisingly led this team to the postseason in 2024, playing inspired football as a rookie. But the guy with the shortest name in NFL history might also be setting Denver up for a very short stay in the 2025 playoffs if he doesn't shake off a veritable sophomore slump and play better down the stretch.

Kansas City Chiefs

Their string of AFC West crowns is in jeopardy of ending at nine if they can’t overtake the Broncos, who continue to open up their lead on K.C. The Chiefs are on bye in Week 10, meaning these teams’ next game will occur against each other on Nov. 16 in Denver – though Patrick Mahomes and Co. would still be 1½ games back of the Broncos even with a win. If the season ended today – it doesn’t – the reigning AFC champion Chiefs would not qualify for the playoffs.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Winners and losers as Broncos defeat Raiders in brutal TNF slog

Reporting by Nate Davis, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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