Oakland Raiders Game Preview vs Denver Broncos
This afternoon the Oakland Raiders put their 0-8 record on the line with a daunting task against the Denver Broncos.
Denver is coming off a tough loss last week to the New England Patriots, so Oakland may be feeling that wrath this afternoon. This game can get out of hand carefully if they aren’t careful.
For Oakland, the growing pains for Derek Carr and the rest of the offense have continued. Last week Carr was 24-41 for 194 yards and two touchdowns and two interceptions. He’ll need to take much better care of the ball this week against an offense that can strike early and often.
If the Raiders are to win today the defense will have to be big, including fellow rookie Khalil Mack. He has been even better than many predicted on draft day and currently sits second on the team with 50 combined tackles.
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Also, the defensive backs will be under even bigger pressure as they will be forced to deal with the likes of Deymarius Thomas, Julius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, and Wes Welker. Running back Ronnie Hillman has been great as of late as well while he continues to fill in for the injured Montee Ball. If there is no pass rush from the Raiders’ front four, the defensive backs will have a long day. You can only cover these guys for so long before it wears on you.
So what DO the Oakland Raiders have going for them this game? A lot more than most will give them, that’s for sure. If Denver starts to look past this game too early, the Raiders definitely have a chance to win this.
They’ll also need to focus more on the run game, something which has still been lacking. Darren McFadden has had a pretty good average (aside from the Seattle game) yet has only rushed just above 13 times per game in the last four games. That will need to improve. The longer you can keep Peyton Manning off the field, the better.
It will be a tough game to be sure, but don’t quite count the Oakland Raiders out. Here’s to hoping they are able to pull their first win of the season out against a tough Denver team.