The Denver Broncos left Oakland on Sunday night licking their wounds. Fans in Denver were left scratching their heads. Not only was Denver outplayed in the Black Hole, they were thoroughly out-coached as well.

While the Raiders offense inflicted serious pain on the ground to the tune of 218 rushing yards and three touchdowns (not to mention causing a broken elbow for Derek Wolfe), Denver failed to generate any kind of ground attack against a team that entering the game was allowing 125 yards per game. Gary Kubiak and Rick Dennison rushed the ball just 12 times in Oakland, including passing on seven of nine plays to open the game. Denver went three-and-out on its first four possessions, gaining just nine total yards.

If there’s any truth to the Albert Einstein axiom that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, Broncos Country might think Kubiak and Dennison are on the path to madness.

It was a similar trend we’ve seen develop over each of the last three games: Denver goes pass heavy early in the game to set up the run. But in Oakland they were never able to establish either. In each of their last three games, Denver has opened with at least five straight pass plays. They’ve gone three-and-out on at least their first two drives twice during that time. On Sunday, Oakland was prepared to stop the short and intermediate passing game early, putting the defense in a hole. Oakland’s average starting field position in the game was their own 37-yard line.

Kubiak and Dennison stubbornly stuck to the pass, even when Trevor Siemian was struggling under pressure. According to Pro Football Focus, Siemian was pressured 21 times on 39 dropbacks in the game with a 53.4 rating when pressured.

Another disturbing trend that’s developed on the offense was in full force again Sunday night as Siemian routinely targeted receivers short of the first down markers on third down. His pass catchers didn’t help, as both Demaryius Thomas and Virgil Green dropped tough, but catchable balls, in the early going. But one particular play in the third quarter really summed up Denver’s overly conservative approach to third downs.

Denver started this particular drive at their own 2-yard line with Siemian throwing up a prayer to Emmanuel Sanders into double coverage that fell incomplete. He connected with Demaryius Thomas for six yards over the middle on the next play, setting up third-and-four from the 8-yard line. Siemian threw a bubble screen to Emmanuel Sanders, who could not reach the line of gain despite three blockers in front of him. Adding insult to the play was the fact Jordan Norwood was flagged for offensive pass interference on the block. Oakland politely declined and forced a Riley Dixon punt.

On at least two other instances, Denver chose to pass on third and short, including one that targeted the wide receiver behind the line of scrimmage. But the head-scratching coaching didn’t end there.

On two different occasions, Kubiak had folks questioning his calls on the field. First, he did not challenge the spot of a downed punt on Oakland’s first drive of the second half. A Raiders defender appeared to step on the goal line when he batted the ball back into the field of play, where Oakland ultimately downed it on the 2-yard line. The resulting drive was that Sanders bubble screen as described previously.

In the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, Denver accepted a 10-yard holding penalty to give the Raiders a third-and-17 instead of a fourth-and-seven deep in Broncos territory. Derek Carr connected with Amari Cooper for 14 yards on the next play, ultimately shortening Sebastian Janikowski’s field goal try. The real killer, however, was the 45 seconds Oakland burned on the next two plays as a result. In a game in which Oakland controlled the ball for nearly 70 percent of the clock, those seconds became more and more precious late in the game.

It was probably the least egregious misstep in the game – one that could have broken the other way if Denver had intercepted the ensuing pass, which Cooper nearly bobbled into Denver’s hands – but in hindsight it was another instance where Kubiak seemed unwilling to  break from convention, despite trailing because of it.

Compounding everything was the fact that Denver was whistled for 12 penalties for 102 yards, seven of which produced Raiders first downs. The most painful sequence was a series of three penalties – two pass interference and one holding – in four plays in the fourth quarter, each resulting in a first-and-goal for Oakland. Considering they played a team that set an NFL record for penalties in a game, Denver was the more undisciplined team throughout the night.

Denver travels to New Orleans next week where they will face a Saints team that’s allowing more than 108 yards on the ground. Will anything change, or will Broncos fans be going crazy again with more of the same?

Here’s what folks across the web were saying about the questionable coaching calls as they unfolded Sunday night.

https://twitter.com/RonnieKRadio/status/795453304763547649

https://twitter.com/RonnieKRadio/status/795469107265175552

https://twitter.com/JoshPennock/status/795474819219394560

https://twitter.com/AllbrightNFL/status/795482556489748481

https://twitter.com/RonnieKRadio/status/795484920638570496