Broncos defense closing on NFL’s sack record, but still not pleased with performance late vs. Raiders

At the end of the day Nik Bonitto s jump off the line late in the fourth quarter Sunday meant well hardly anything The outcome was never in doubt the Broncos up - with three minutes to play These were pure garbage-time reps But his takedown of Raiders backup Kenny Pickett was another notch towards something greater For one the -year-old outside linebacker now stands just one sack away from a career-best mark in racking up two sacks on the Raiders to bring his tally to It was a good feeling for sure Bonitto revealed only Sunday And for two the Broncos now sit at crew sacks through games squarely in striking distance of the Chicago Bears all-time squad sack record of It ll take a large-scale effort to shatter that mark as the Broncos will need four sacks a match or better the rest of the way to challenge those Bears But they had four on Sunday after defensive tackle Malcolm Roach came up with a huge second-down takedown of Geno Smith in the second quarter and DE John Franklin-Myers notched one a play later Still as they break off the snap towards history Denver s pass-rush isn t satisfied They didn t get much pressure in the second half and Las Vegas suddenly turned that -point lead into a one-score meeting with a calamity of errors a busted coverage on a Raiders touchdown late in the fourth quarter a defensive delay-of-game call on safety Brandon Jones that gave the Raiders an ultimately meaningless last-second field goal It shouldn t have even got that close Bonitto commented postgame We didn t close the way we should have defensively Obviously we ll work on that but I feel like we ve just got to be better down the stretch Jones ongoing for Jones If the Broncos had any need for additional interior-defensive-line help earlier this season they turned preponderance often to -year-old Air Force product Jordan Jackson who was activated for four of Denver s first five games as Malcolm Roach worked his way back from a calf injury With starting nose tackle D J Jones ankle missing his first battle of the year Sunday though the Broncos turned to third-round rookie Sai vion Jones over Jackson against the Raiders It was only Jones second activation of the year after playing six snaps in Week against the Bengals and it was a clear show of faith in the rookie to earn particular developmental reps against a struggling Raiders unit He s a lengthy guy D J Jones announced of the rookie in early September He knows the moves that work for him And we see him getting taught more details on that move he ll be a dog IR presence Broncos starting right guard Ben Powers was with the group in Las Vegas and walking around pregame a notable maturation as Powers continues to work back from a bicep tear suffered in Week Powers original timetable was roughly nine to weeks a source stated The Post after he was placed on injured reserve If he s still on that track he could return against Green Bay Jacksonville or Kansas City in the coming weeks Powers has been around the facility and was seen doing rehab work on a side field this week Related Articles PHOTOS Denver Broncos defeat Las Vegas Raiders - in th straight win NFL Week Broncos-Raiders summary card Sean Payton Bo Nix execute ruthless gameplan in reassured win Broncos Four Downs RJ A-OK Rookie RJ Harvey delivers breakout challenge in Denver s blue-collar preeminence How it Happened Broncos beat Raiders to improve to - on the season Broncos-Raiders scouting assessment Broncos can gain key foothold in AFC seeding with win over Las Vegas The Broncos have stabilized after plenty of fluctuation at guard this season as Matt Peart tore his MCL in starting for Powers in mid-October Alex Palczewski has filled in admirably since Week starting his seventh straight match against the Raiders in Vegas on Sunday Adkins update Head coach Sean Payton reported Sunday that fullback tight end specialist Nate Adkins who s been sidelined since Week with a knee injury is close to coming back Payton previously indicated that the Broncos expected Adkins back this week but he didn t practice In his stead fullback Adam Prentice has played an increasingly major role in Denver s offense a heavy run-blocker who also accounted for two first downs against the Raiders Nate played specific of that role where he s at Payton explained of Prentice And he had a really good encounter this day Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis