DENVER – Pat Surtain II intercepted two passes and his 100-yard interception return for a touchdown lifted the Denver Broncos past the injury-plagued Las Vegas Raiders 34-18 on Sunday, ending a storied AFC West eight-game losing streak -Series.

Rookie Bo Nix had a breakout performance with two touchdown passes after entering the game with just one. He also went for a score as Denver scored 34 unanswered points after falling behind 10-0 in the first quarter.

Nix completed passes for a franchise-record 11 players and finished 19 of 27 for 206 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, giving the Broncos (3-2) their first win over the Raiders (2-3) since Dec. 29 2019 secured a confusing losing streak considering how balanced the teams have been in recent seasons.

First-year starter Riley Moss also intercepted Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew. His first career interception came one week after his first career fumble recovery and two weeks after the first forced fumble of his two-year career.

That also ended Minshew’s day.

He was replaced by former starter Aidan O’Connell with 1:31 left in the third quarter, with Las Vegas trailing 20-10. Minshew, who was missing superstar Davante Adams (ankle) for the second straight week, finished 12 of 17 for 137 yards with a touchdown, two interceptions and two sacks after completing his first nine passes for 115 yards.

His 10th went 100 yards the other way as the Broncos erased an early double-digit deficit en route to a big win on a day they honored their first Super Bowl team of 1977.

Surtain intercepted O’Connell’s first pass of his second series and gave the ball back to Nix at the Las Vegas 39 just after his 1-yard keeper made it 27-10, and he promptly hit Josh Reynolds for a 9-yard Score.

O’Connell completed 10 of 20 yards for 94 yards and an interception.

In total, the Raiders ran for just 5 yards in the second half. They had 110 points at halftime.

Before kickoff, Randy Gradishar was honored as the first member of the famed Orange Crush defense to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Two of his teammates, Steve Foley and Riley Odoms, were inducted into the team’s Ring of Fame at halftime because the signage, field (with block letters and no midfield logo), and stadium music were reminiscent of the 1970s.

This also applied to Denver’s strong defense, which shut down the Raiders after some initial hiccups.

It may be harder for the Raiders’ offense to break out of its slump since Adams made it clear this week that he would rather play for another organization.

The Broncos took a 13-10 halftime lead when Wil Lutz kicked a 44-yard field goal just before the second chance expired. He was wide left from 59 yards, but Raiders defensive end Janarius Robinson was whistled for a personal foul from 15 yards for jumping over the snapper.

The Raiders scored on Brock Bowers’ 57-yard touchdown catch and Daniel Carlson’s 40-yard field goal and were threatening to take a 17-3 lead when Minshew went left from the 5 on first-and-goal rolled and gave Bowers the lead.

His throw flew over Bowers’ head and Surtain, covering Jakobi Meyers, held the ball at his own goal line and ran down the Denver sideline. The only Raider who had a chance to prevent the turnaround touchdown was Minshew, but he was knocked down 35 yards down by rookie linebacker Jonah Ellis and Surtain trotted into the end zone with the ball held high.

Surtain’s 100-yard TD return was the second-longest in team history, trailing only Aqib Talib’s 103 yards against Dallas in 2017.

Injuries

Raiders DE Maxx Crosby played despite a sprained ankle and had two sacks. DT Christian Wilkins also got a sack but sat out the second half with a foot injury. … Broncos RB Tyler Badie (back) was placed on IR over the weekend. … C Matt Wattenberg left in the fourth quarter with an unspecified injury. … TE Greg Dulcich was a healthy scratch. And RT Alex Palczewski (ankle) was replaced by Matt Peart in the second half. Palczewski started in place of Mike McGlinchey (knee).

Next

Raiders: Host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

Broncos: Host the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

——

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl