It’s ugly football week. I re-watched the Titans-Bills game yesterday, in its entirety. Now I’ve taken another, complete, look at the other clunker from Week 5. Denver at Oakland, and it wasn’t pretty. I hadn’t spent much time previously because the Raiders are off this week, while Andy was writing the preview for Denver’s next game.

Peyton Manning: He just doesn’t seem to have it anymore. He’s lost too much physical ability. He can’t move at all, and he’s lost too much arm strength. I don’t think he’s physically capable anymore of throwing the ball 50 yards. It’s dangerous to ask him to throw anything over 40 yards, and he’s really most comfortable and effective pecking his way down the field with underneath stuff. Early in this game, Emmanuel Sanders was open for what could have been 72-yard touchdown. But it was a wobbler that hung in the air and Sanders had to wait for it, catching it after it traveled 35 yards in the air. Long touchdown turns into a 45-yard completion.

In second half, Manning tried to hit Demaryius Thomas on a deep out. Using Pythagorean theorem (thank you, Kenmore Junior High), I believe the ball traveled 45 yards. Again the ball wobbled, hung in the air and showed up late. Charles Woodson was able to drift over and intercept it. Keep in mind these throws were made in ideal weather. Scary to think how bad Manning will be in some December-January games, with colder temperatures, with wind, rain and snow.

Manning is still one of the very best between the ears. He used those smarts to put up 2 and 3 TDs at Kansas City and Detroit. But right now I’m of the thinking that the best to expect from him (if he stays healthy) would be slightly above-average passing numbers. Maybe 260 passing yards per game, with perhaps 25-26 TDs if we were starting a 16-game season right now.

Denver running backs: It’s not happening for C.J. Anderson or Ronnie Hillman. The blocking isn’t good enough, and these backs aren’t good enough to do it on their on. Last year in the second half of the season, Anderson got hot and was a top 5 or 10 back in November and December. I don’t see that happening this year. Hillman had a 72-yard touchdown to help them to a good day against the Vikings, but otherwise they’ve been under 70 rushing yards in every game. I expect they’ll continue to share time and struggle. We might see them working in Juwan Thompson as well. He had a few touches in this game.

Denver receivers: You know the drill on Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. Good receivers, and they’re working with a great quarterback who can no longer throw the ball. So they need to catch everything underneath now. The two most notable plays in this one, I thought, were the underthrown touchdown to Sanders that Manning missed. For Thomas, he sort of dropped a 2-yard touchdown pass. He was in the back of the end zone and there were two defenders on him, but the pass was there and hit him on at least one hand. It was a bang-bang deal, but it was a ball he would catch most of the time.

Also should point out that there seems to be something about Cody Latimer that doesn’t fit with this offense. He’s the guy they selected in the second round last year, recall, and some took late-round flyers on him, thinking he might be a viable No. 3 in this offense. He was the size and speed to maybe be a deep threat. But Manning can’t make those throws, and Latimer isn’t even one of their top 5 receivers. Jordan Norwood is their slot guy, and Bennie Fowler is their No. 4. Fowler broke some tackles to turn a short catch into a 41-yarder in this game, and I recall him playing pretty well in the Detroit game. Andre Caldwell seems to be ahead of Latimer.

Owen Daniels: Oakland had allowed touchdowns to tight ends in seven straight games, so it made some sense to plug him in for this one. But he got completely shut out. He didn’t even catch any of the 5 balls thrown his way. One was knocked down at the line of scrimmage. Three throws were off target, including one that was intercepted. On the final throw to Daniels, the throw was there and on time, but Daniels tripped or slipped coming out of his break and that ball also was almost picked off.

Derek Carr: He struggled. They put him under pressure, and there was no ability to get the ball downfield. They was working awfully hard, it seemed, to move the ball sideways.

Latavius Murray: Last week the Raiders benched him in the fourth quarter. He lost a fumble and had a ball bounce off his chest for an interception. He didn’t do any better this week. He picked up 11 yards on his first carry, and it was all downhill from there. His remaining 12 carries went for 28 yards. He didn’t get a lot of room, but nor did he seem to run particularly hard or make many people miss. They plugged in Jamize Olawale and Roy Helu Jr. for a few touches in the first half, and there didn’t seem to be much of a difference. Helu is a better pass catcher (and probably better in protection) and Olawale is a big guy who can run with power. In the second half, Murray appeared to play on only one three-and-out series in the middle of the third quarter. The rest of the way, I believe they used only Olawale and Helu. In the fourth quarter they had a fourth-and-one and went to a big package, and it was Olawale who punched it out. Murray is still the back on this team, I suppose, but I can’t guarantee that the next time the Raiders get the ball on the 1-yard line that it will be him who punches it in.

Raiders receivers: Denver has the great pass rush and the great corners, and it seemed like Oakland was scared to throw downfield. Not enough time for those plays to develop, and guys weren’t getting open. Cooper caught only 4 passes, and 3 of them were more like handoffs – they would send him behind the quarterback (like he was getting the ball on a reverse) and then hit him on swing passes. They have him returning punts now, for whatever that’s worth – had an 18-yard return in this game. In the dying minutes of this game they tried to get it to Cooper on a long bomb and he picked up about 50 yards on a pass interference penalty. They probably should have tried some of those earlier.

Michael Crabtree seems to be similar in value to Cooper. He was better on this day, making (I think) two pretty good downfield passes. He has some ability to catch in traffic, while Cooper has more after-the-catch ability.

Seth Roberts seems to be the clear No. 3 receiver on this team. He was on the field a ton more than Andre Holmes. A forgettable day, though. He was the intended target on the loss-clinching Pick Six. The ball was on time and accurate, and he didn’t seem to be looking for it. The design of the play, though, was poor, with Cooper and a tight end both within 3 yards of him. On his only other target, Roberts got stripped for a fumble but it was overturned on replay to an incompletion.

Raiders tight ends: Lee Smith probably plays the most; he’s generally a blocker. Mychal Rivera is their main pass-catching guy; he caught 3 for 33 in this game. And they’re also working in Clive Walford. Walford got open against a busted coverage for a 33-yard catch. But none of these guys have any fantasy value.

Sebastian Janikowski: He played a role in this loss. He had a 38-yard attempt blocked, and it might have come out too low. Later he was wide on a 40-yarder. He was clearly outplayed by Brandon McManus, who banged in all three of his field goals, including a 52-yarder that looked like it would have been good from 60. McManus hit his kickoffs into the back of the end zone. Janikowski seems to be doing some funny punch deal with his kickoffs, so they’re landing around the 5-yard line and getting returned out to near the 30.

—Ian Allan