John Elway, in a freshly pressed blue suit, walked across the infield dirt and past the Raiders’ bench as security guards ushered him through the tunnel at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.



As he entered the bowels of the stadium, he glanced up at the swarm of Silver and Black fans — many drunk, all excited and a few begging for Elway to look their way. After a few handshakes and smiles with familiar faces working at the stadium, Elway went through the Black Hole, appearing less a general manager distraught about his team’s circumstances and more of one encouraged by what he just witnessed.



The Broncos’ 24-16 loss to the Raiders appeared more lopsided than the score showed, as Denver’s defense struggled to get off the field and its offense struggled to finish drives. Mistakes that haunted the Broncos in the last three seasons resurfaced once more.



But Elway — along with new head coach Vic Fangio — said they were...