Broncos' win over Raiders was so ugly it produced something the NFL hasn't seen in nearly 50 years

If you decided not to watch the Thursday night game between the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders, that might have been for the best. The Broncos' 10-7 win over their AFC West rival ended up being one of the ugliest games of the season. 

Here's how ugly things got: Neither quarterback threw for more than 150 yards, the Raiders had more punts than points, the Broncos recorded exactly ZERO first downs on their first four possessions and the two teams combined for just 17 points, which is the lowest combined total in any game this year. 

Oh, and the two teams also combined to pull an ugly feat that the NFL hasn't seen in 49 years: The Raiders and Broncos both finished with more penalties than first downs. 

The Broncos got penalized 11 times on the night while only recording 10 first downs. And somehow, the Raiders put up the exact same numbers. 

If you need one stat that sums up just how ugly the game was, that's it. According to Next Gen Stats, this was the first game since 1976 where BOTH teams had more penalties than first downs. The last time it happened came when two expansion teams played with the 0-5 Seahawks facing the 0-5 Buccaneers. So yes, the Raiders and Broncos were playing expansion level football. 

In the 1976 game, the Seahawks ended up winning 13-10 to earn their first win of the season. Seattle was called for 15 penalties while finished with 14 first downs. On Tampa Bay's end, the Bucs were flagged 20 times while finishing with 18 first downs. 

The Broncos won this game despite totaling just 220 yards of offense. Going into Thursday night, NFL teams had been 0-24 over the past year in games where they scored 10 points or less with under 220 yards of offense, which tells you how rare this win was. 

Bo Nix, who threw for 150 yards, knows that the offense has to improve if the Broncos want to beat serious contenders. 

Geno Smith injury: Raiders QB suffers quad contusion on 'Thursday Night Football' against Broncos

Zachary Pereles

"At some point, we've got to start moving the ball and scoring some points," Nix said, via ESPN. "Between penalties and sluggish football, we're just not playing very good. It starts with me. I've got to be better. ... We've got to find some juice."

At 8-2, the Broncos are currently in first place in the AFC West, but they know they have to be better on offense if they want to stay there. 

"Yeah, cool, we're 8-2 ... [but] the defense is winning us the games, and we're not helping them. We're not doing them any justice," J.K. Dobbins said following the win. "I feel bad the way we play on offense and the way they play on defense because they're doing so great and we're doing so bad. They're our brothers, too, and it just sucks because they're just out there so many plays, playing their butts off. We can't keep doing this to them."

The Broncos defense sacked Geno Smith six times while holding the Raiders to just 188 yards. 

The Broncos beat a 2-7 Raiders team on Thursday night, but things are going to get much more difficult going forward and that starts in Week 11 with a home game against Kansas City. If the Broncos want to fix their offense, they're going to have to do it quickly with the Chiefs coming up next.