Khalil Mack has 5 sacks as Raiders knock off Broncos

In this version of the Denver offense, one more like the ideal Kubiak system, Osweiler is waiting for receivers to get open before he throws the ball.

The Broncos have now gone seven-plus quarters without an offensive touchdown and Sunday saw four trips inside the 20-yard line fall apart.

Mack took the game over defensively with a franchise record-tying five sacks, giving the second-year pass rusher 14 for the season. Like the Broncos and Bengals, the Patriots began the day 10-2 and could take over the top seed in the AFC pending the outcome of their Sunday night game against the Texans.

While the Oakland offense struggled, King repeatedly kept the Broncos in poor field position and rescued the Raiders from risky territory.

Manning, 39, has been sidelined with a variety of injuries, the most serious of which is a foot injury. He played in games well enough to get his team in the winning column.

The Raiders scored their first touchdown in the third quarter by Seth Roberts.

The scoop: Alex Smith passed 44 yards to Albert Wilson for the game’s only touchdown in the second quarter. “Right now is the time”. “And it all culminated in a loss tonight”. And that’s not the worst of it. This sad-beyond-belief, 15-12 defeat against the lowly Oakland Raiders was so damaging to Denver it could slowly tear the team apart. Much of that value has been driven by Osweiler’s ability to avoid interceptions. Of the quarterback’s 16 incompletions, at least a half-dozen were drops. Demaryius Thomas has been battling the dropsies, and Vernon Davis’ drop on fourth down to end the game was infuriating.

Trailing by three, the Raiders capitalized on a muffed punt by Broncos returner Emmanuel Sanders to go in front for the first time.

“That’s why I came back, because moments like this, you can’t duplicate those in life”, said Freeney, 35, who signed with Arizona in mid-October and earned every penny of his $684,705 base salary for 2015 on that one play. Mack has nine sacks in his last three games, and now has 14 on the season. They may not be Super Bowl contenders, but this is a team that has upset potential. The Tampa two-zone coverage that Oakland coach Jack Del Rio used to stymie Osweiler on Sunday is nothing Manning hasn’t picked apart dozens of times in his career. I never thought I would have to say this, but I think Elway missed the ball on this.

This stunning, incredible 15-12 Raiders comeback victory at Sports Authority Field on Sunday obviously will not be the last time Mack is summoned specially for postgame interviews, usually a duty reserved only for quarterback Derek Carr on this team.

Later in the fourth, Brandon McManus’ missed a 49-yard field goal that would have tied it when it hit the left upright and bounced away, and the Raiders missed a chance to add to their lead when Sebastian Janikowski was wide left on a 43-yard field goal try.

While it was a stunning blow to the Broncos, it raised the record of Del Rio’s intriguing club to 6-7.

On one possession Denver got to first-and-goal from the Oakland 4-yard-line, promptly ran two running plays and wound up on third down at the 12, which failed.

Either way, his time is tenuous without better play.

Sunday, Mack put up his first true signature National Football League game.

“We went through a good week last week, gave him the weekend off, so we’ll see where we’re at”, Kubiak said. “I don’t mind frustrations at all as a coach because we work hard at what we do”.

“We all need to execute, especially me”.