Since their meeting in week one, both the Broncos (6-4) and the Raiders (2-8) have changed dramatically.
Denver has been absolutely depleted by injuries, while Oakland has tried to "pull off the bandage before the wound was healed", if you will.
In their meeting in week one, the Broncos made the home-team Raiders look like the butt-end of all jokes as they beat Oakland 41-14.
Since that game, Oakland has fired former head coach Lane Kiffin and parted ways with their biggest off-season acquisition, DeAngelo Hall.
The last six years of this rivalry have been a bit one-sided, as the Broncos have won nine of the last eleven matchups between the two teams.
Denver boasts the AFC's top passer in quarterback Jay Cutler, as well as the top overall offense in the conference.
Oakland will try to counter Cutler and the aerial attack with All-Underrated team captain Nnamdi Asomugha, who has been thrown at a mere 17 times this season.
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Asomugha, however, has been the lone bright spot on this Oakland team.
The Raiders have scored a meager 128 points in ten games, which is the worst in the NFL. Oakland's failure to score points could be their demise against the offensive powerhouse that is the Broncos.
Both teams have had serious troubles stopping opposing teams, each giving up over five yards per play.
I think Denver has a great chance to get out to an early lead against this Oakland team, especially with their defense playing well in recent games. If the Broncos can force JaMarcus Russell to throw early, the Raiders could be in trouble.
The Broncos will also have one more weapon on offense they didn't have in their week one slashing: Brandon Marshall.
Marshall teams up with rookie Eddie Royal as the receivers with the fifth and eighth most catches in the NFL respectively. The dynamic duo has more total receptions than any other pair in the AFC.
Another interesting stat that caught my eye is the production of former college teammates Darren McFadden and Peyton Hillis. While McFadden has had some time on the injury list with turf toe, Hillis actually has more touchdowns this season than McFadden, an accomplishment no football fan could have predicted.
Both teams have played with great heart on defense in recent games, but the Raiders are worse than Denver at stopping the run, and if the Broncos can control the clock in this game while adding in the big-play ability of Cutler and his weapons, it could be another long day for Oakland and their fans.
Broncos 30, Raiders 13
Have fun watching the game everyone!
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about 1 month ago
The Broncos will be lucky to put up 14 on Sunday...
about 1 month ago
Yes, Greg. The Oakland defense that totally shut down the Broncos in week 1 (heavy sarcasm) will come to play even more this week...I don't forsee that happening.
Anyway, solid prediction article as always!
from about 1 month ago
Thanks Henry! I try to ignore the comments that don't have any intelligent arguments to them (see greg above) I think the Broncs will take it to the Raiders!
about 1 month ago
Rivalry! What rivalry? I'll start getting excited about my Broncos playing the Raiders again, when the Raiders become at least a .500 team, and prove that they can beat us more than once every 3-4 years. Right now, I think the rivalry's dead, because the Raiders clearly haven't held up their end of it(21-69 since the 2003 season, and 6-21 against us since the '95 season), and I'm being totally honest when I say that I get more excited when my Broncos play the Chargers, since the Bronco-Charger games have meant a lot more in recent years than our games against the Raiders. I have to say the Raiders have become totally irrelevant.
from about 1 month ago
I agree Michael, the rivalry is one-sided in recent years, but it is still a rivalry. It's not very entertaining as far as the drama, but I still love the games, regardless of how competetive the opposition is.
from about 1 month ago
Actually Michael, that's where the problem enlies.
The Rivialry isn't the team's total wins vs wins, it's the head to head stats.
Sure, we've won 1 time in what, maybe 10, these last few times.
Now for the part that will surprise you....there was stretches, when the Raiders had Denver for 14 straight games.
Or the 11-1 period, in 1989 to 1994.
just looked it up....last 15 times we've played, we've still won 5 times. So not complete ownership.
And considering last year's nailbiter in Invesco, and the trouncing in Oakland....I wouldn't say the rivaly is dead by a long shot.
about 1 month ago
The rivalry is still there, but not because the games are really competitive. It's a rivalry because of the history, and because of Coach Shanahan's history with Al Davis and the raiders organization. Of course a rivalry is more of one when the teams win an equal amount of time, but I'd say that most Bronco fans will always feel better than normal on a Sunday night after the Broncos have beaten the Raiders, as opposed to someone like the Saints.
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