And the winning streak broke. Emphatically, that is.

Forget a curtain call, the Denver Broncos gave the visiting Las Vegas Raiders a Surtain call when elite cornerback Pat Surtain II intercepted an errant second-quarter Gardner Minshew pass and with the takeaway sprinted 100 yards for the pick six to get the script in the AFC to flip Western match.

What should have been a commanding, if not easy, 17-3 lead – rookie tight end Brock Bowers runs into the end zone when Minshew’s pass was on target instead of sailing over his head where even a two-yard target would struggle have to tie it in – instead it became a 10-10 draw. And from then on, Denver seized the momentum and Las Vegas folded like a degenerate gambler in the countless casinos on the strip.

How bad was it?

Denver rattled off 24 unanswered points before Las Vegas engineered a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that culminated in running back Ameer Abdullah’s three-yard run and fellow tailback Alexander Mattison’s two-point run with 4:01 to play .

Gone is the Silver & Black’s eight-game win streak as the Broncos (3-2 overall) galloped past the Raiders (2-3) 34-18 on Sunday afternoon.

“We knew there would be a few plays in the game that wouldn’t go our way. Obviously that happened,” Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce lamented during the post-game press conference. “At the end of the day we came back here at halftime, it was a 10-13 game. We had to keep playing and we just didn’t play enough. It is clear that fines and turnover have cost us our lives.”

Much criticism is leveled at Pierce’s football team, which played clean football and avoided penalties, but in Denver his Raiders imploded. In total, Las Vegas committed 11 fouls for a total of 79 yards. And the turnovers – all three were interceptions – were just as atrocious as the Raiders’ overall performance.

Minshew’s misfire against Surtain was the first of his interceptions, as Broncos cornerback Riley Moss made a leap to account for the Raiders starter’s turnover.

Then, two drives in Las Vegas later, backup Aidan O’Connell – who came in after Minshew was pulled after his second interception – threw a pick of his own when his pass to Bowers was deflected and landed in the hands of Denver’s top. breakaway cornerback.

Denver turned that takeaway into an end zone visit just four plays later, good for the 34 the Broncos dropped on the listless Raiders.

Pierce is big on getting back to the old-school Silver & Black roots and seeing the team erode after the return of the 100-yard interception was indeed a throwback to the Raiders teams of old. These are the teams that couldn’t bounce back from a drastic turn of events and showed little to no determination or perseverance to get through the tough times. There are many Silver & Black squads that take it easy into the night and we saw another good example in this lopsided defeat.

“Of course no one wants to lose, but we have to find ways to win. That’s really all that matters,” Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby said after the game. “Very emotional, a big win last week, and today we had a big defeat. So, back to the drawing board: make sure you improve one percent in every way every day. That’s what we’re going to do.”

At this point, that drawing board — usually erased and written on countless times — can reach legendary status, like the overhead projector the late, great Al Davis used when he fired Lane Kiffin as head coach of his Raiders back in the day. Not only is this division loss painful, but Las Vegas is still dealing with the Davante Adams situation.

Let’s hit the fast ramps as fast as Surtain effortlessly picked up the pass and sprinted to the end zone with his pick six:

—Bowers scored the first touchdown of his career while taking a Minshew pass 57 yards to the house on the Raiders’ first drive of the afternoon. Props to wide receiver Tre Tucker for shutting down Surtain in pursuit. The rookie paced the team with 12 targets, hauling in eight for 97 yards and a score.

—Crosby returned to action after missing Week 4 and collected two sacks to go along with three total tackles (all solo). Crosby showed the frenetic energy and relentlessness that make him a terror to opposing offensive coordinators. He even had quite a suggestion for Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix during the game.

– But it’s Nix who has the last laugh. Denver’s rookie signal caller finished an efficient 19 of 27 for 206 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. This after wrestling and leading a stifled offense. The Raiders seem to be the right play for opponents, right?

—Minshew finished 12 of 17 for 137 yards with one touchdown pass and two interceptions before you get pulled. O’Connell finished 10 of 20 for 94 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. It will be interesting to see if Minshew retains his status as a starter or will the Raiders consider a change?

— Raiders defensive tackle Christian Wilkins had quite a game with one sack, five total tackles (four solo) with two tackles for loss. But fellow defensive tackle Adam Butler celebrated Wilkins’ sack with him and the high-priced interior defenseman didn’t play a second time with what the team categorized as a foot injury.

—The story on the tape shows the Raiders offense gaining 330 total yards against the stout defense of the Broncos. Meanwhile, Las Vegas’ defense limited Denver’s offense to 289 yards. But it’s the Broncos’ performance in the red zone – four trips, three touchdowns – that made the difference.

Note of note:

“I thought we had a good start, but then I killed our momentum with a pick-six. And at the end of the day, I didn’t do well enough to give us a chance to be competitive in the game. So ultimately it’s on me.” —Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew