Kareem Jackson reacts to critical penalty, Jakobi Meyers injury

Kareem Jackson knew his team needed the ball back.

Third-and-8 from the Las Vegas 44-yard line, Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo hit Jakobi Meyers over the middle and Jackson laid out to try to stop him short of the first down.

Jackson, though, hit Meyers high and Meyers crumpled to the turf. Players from both teams gathered around before he was able to sit up on his own and walk off the field with help from trainers.

A scary situation and a costly 15-yard penalty on Jackson. A stop the Broncos desperately needed and failed to get — Las Vegas ran the final 2 minutes, 54 seconds off the clock thanks to a Garoppolo first-down run a minute later to secure a 17-16 victory. But also, hopefully, a serious injury avoided.

“I just want to say I hope he’s alright,” Jackson told reporters afterward. “Obviously we don’t play this game to hurt guys. It’s a tough sport we play. … Unfortunately stuff like that happens. Definitely sending my thoughts and prayers to him.”

Jackson said he wasn’t sure if he made helmet-to-helmet contact or initiated with his shoulder pad, but he sold out on the hit knowing his team needed a stop.

“A lot of times, bang-bang plays, it’s just an unfortunate situation. Not really sure if I got him with my shoulder or head-to-head. … Hopefully he can come back healthy.”

Jeudy out. The Broncos’ top receiver, Jerry Jeudy, was inactive for the opener because of the hamstring he injured just more than two weeks ago.

Jeudy did some work on the field more than two hours before kickoff and then had a chat with Payton and general manager George Paton.

He injured his hamstring Aug. 24 during a joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams but was a limited participant in practice all week after medical imaging showed a less severe injury than originally feared when he needed a cart to get to the locker room.

The rest of the Broncos’ inactives: Cornerbacks Riley Moss (core) and Ja’Quan McMillian, safety JL Skinner, offensive lineman Alex Forsyth, tight end Nate Adkins and outside linebacker Thomas Incoom.

That means the seven inactives included five rookies. McMillian might be the biggest surprise of the group, considering he’d run most of training camp and the preseason.

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