LAS VEGAS — The Broncos had to account for a massive hole on the defensive line in their 29-19 victory over the Raiders.
Starting defensive end Zach Allen (heel) was inactive on Sunday afternoon at Allegiant Stadium — marking the first time Allen missed a game as a member of the Broncos.
Allen was a limited participant on Wednesday due to rest. He practiced fully on Thursday and was once again limited on Friday because of the injury.
He wore a walking boot on his right foot while observing pregame warmups. Head coach Sean Payton did not comment on Allen’s injury after the game.
The Broncos had another key defensive player sustain an injury during the game when cornerback Riley Moss injured his knee while he tried to help tackle tight end Brock Bowers with 53 seconds left in the second quarter.
Moss walked off the field on his own power after being looked at by trainers but was ruled out in the third quarter. Payton said the injury wasn’t serious.
“Fortunately, it wasn’t really serious with Riley. It’s an MCL (injury),” Payton said. “I’m not going to give any (other updates). We’ll see how next week is. There was some thought that maybe he could go back in, so we’ll see where it’s at.”
Allen has been one of the top defensive linemen in the league, recording five sacks and 46 pressures so far this season — tied for seventh in the league entering Sunday. His Pro Bowl-caliber season helped Denver enter Week’s 12 matchup ranked first in sacks (39) and second in pressures (164).
His absence was felt in the first half when the Broncos only had one pressure and didn’t record a sack. The Broncos, however, increased their intensity in the final two quarters, totaling five sacks to secure their seventh victory.
Safety Brandon Jones returned to the starting lineup after missing last week’s win over the Falcons due to an abdominal injury. He was questionable on Saturday night due to an illness.
The rest of Denver’s inactive players included cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine, offensive tackle Frank Crum, guard Calvin Throckmorton, tight end Greg Dulcich, guard Nick Gargiulo and quarterback Zach Wilson.
Wilson served as the team’s emergency third quarterback.
Lutz helping Singleton’s fantasy team: No one enjoyed kicker Wil Lutz’s performance more than Alex Singleton.
Denver’s inside linebacker, who is out for the season with a torn ACL, had the veteran kicker in his starting lineup for fantasy football and racked up a ton of points. Lutz went 5 for 5 on field goal attempts and 2 for 2 on extra points.
“Twenty points for Alex Singleton’s fantasy team, so he’s very grateful,” said Lutz, who added that Singleton reminded him during the game of how well he was performing in fantasy.
Eni’s first sack: Eyioma Uwazurike waited a lot longer than he might have imagined to record his first NFL sack.
It finally arrived Sunday after a dip-your-toes-in rookie year in 2022 and a full-year suspension for gambling policy violations last year.
Uwazurike now has a sack — well, half a sack — to his name after splitting one with D.J. Jones in the fourth quarter of the Broncos’ win.
“It felt good,” the 26-year-old said. “It felt good to get that after everything and just getting back on the field and making that happen was definitely special.”
Uwazurike has been almost exclusively an early down, run-first defender and only active when the Broncos’ are playing run-heavy teams. He was up Sunday, though, because of Zach Allen’s heel injury.
He made the most of more playing time and said he never doubted this moment would come for him.
“I feel like I’ve got a lot more to show,” he said. “I haven’t had too much pass-rush. More to come.”
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