It was the best of punts, it was the worst of punts. It was Broncos and Raiders on Thursday Night Football.
Las Vegas punter AJ Cole and Denver punter Jeremy Crawshaw met at Mile High Stadium on a very windy night in Week 10 and the early results were ... notable.
The Raiders ended their first drive of the game with Cole punting the ball into the coffin corner to force the Broncos to start their first drive from the 2-yard line. The Broncos promptly went three-and-out with Crawshaw shanking his kick. The ball went out of bounds at the 41 for what was recorded as a 30-yard punt.
This has to be the worst NFL punt I’ve ever seen. pic.twitter.com/eO01TAN1sP
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 7, 2025
The Raiders promptly took advantage of the short field and took a 7–0 lead on an Ashton Jeanty touchdown run.
On Denver's next possession, Crawshaw had a normal 51-yard punt. By the time he punted the third time, half of the crowd was getting restless. When he kicked another one off the side of his foot for 36 yards he was met with boos as he jogged off the field.
Things got so bad Pat McAfee had to express his concern.
This Broncos punter is going thru it… I’m worried
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 7, 2025
To make his night seem that much worse, Cole dropped another punt inside the 5-yard line and saw it take a hard right turn somehow go out of bounds inside the 1-yard line.
What kind of wizardry is that by #Raiders punter A.J. Cole?!?! 🧙♂️ pic.twitter.com/eS88LKztAE
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) November 7, 2025
To his credit, Crawshaw rebounded to kick one of his own out at the 1-yard line on his fourth punt of the half. Somehow, after punting four times and Bo Nix throwing an interception the Broncos were able to go into halftime tied 7-7.
Blame the punters.
UPDATE: In the second half Cole had a punt blocked.
A heads-up play by the @Broncos special teams! 🤯 #TNFonPrime pic.twitter.com/OfyYa8eB77
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) November 7, 2025
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Raiders-Broncos ‘Thursday Night Football’ Clash Breaks Out Into One-Sided Punter War.
