Heading into the Oakland Raiders Week 5 showdown with Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos we highlighted three matchups that would be crucial in shaping how the game played out.
The Raiders ended up losing to the Broncos 16-10, dropping their record to 2-3 as they head into the bye week, so let's take some time to review the matchups.
Defensive Coordinator Ken Norton, Jr. vs. Tight End Owen Daniels
From top to bottom, Norton's defense put together their best effort of the young season Sunday at O.co Coliseum.
In total, they allowed just 266 yards through the air, and even more impressively, just 45 yards on the ground.
It was no secret that the Raiders defense had trouble containing the opposing team's tight end through the first quarter of the season, but give credit to Norton and his staff for remedying the situation Sunday.
Owen Daniels was a non-factor offensively, as he was targeted 5 times but did not haul in a single reception from Peyton Manning.
Safety Charles Woodson vs. Quarterback Peyton Manning
It took him more than 17 seasons, but Charles Woodson finally picked off Peyton Manning.
Heading into Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos, Woodson had 62 total interceptions, but none from the arm of Peyton Manning.
Woodson joked earlier in the week with teammates that if he could pick Manning off it would serve as his birthday present to himself and he did just that – not once, but twice.
However, postgame, the future Hall-of-Famer had little desire to talk about his personal accolades, instead keeping the focus squarely on the team's result on the field.
"Really don't even want to talk about the interceptions, just because of the fact we did lose the game," said Woodson. "It was all about winning the game… Those things are the shiny things, shiny toys that you like, but it's about wins and losses, man. As I said a few days ago, our mission is to win our division and the only way we can do that is to beat the team that's won it the last few years. Today we dropped the ball on that."
Woodson now has 64 career interceptions, which ties him with Ed Reed for sixth all-time. He also leads all active players.
Tackles Donald Penn and Austin Howard vs. Outside Linebacker DeMarcus Ware
What was originally supposed to be one of the more intriguing matchups of the day ended up being a non-story as DeMarcus Ware left the game early due to injury.
Ware played less than a half, totaling just 3 total tackles during his time on the field.
However, even without Ware, the Broncos pass rush had little trouble getting to Derek Carr, sacking him 4 times, including a strip and fumble recovery that led to a field goal, in Sunday's 16-10 win over the Silver and Black.
