Oakland Raiders Game Plan For Denver Should Be A Simple One

The Oakland Raiders are in Denver to wrap up their 2016 regular season with a game that has big implications for the playoff picture.

The Oakland Raiders are in the playoffs. That much is clear. What isn’t so clear though, is where they’ll be seeded or what their schedule is going to be. With the possibility that they could be the AFC’s top seed, second seed, or their fifth seed still hanging out there, the finale against Denver is a big one.

Of course, the injury to Derek Carr looms large in the hearts and minds of fans everywhere. With Matt McGloin taking over under center, the mood in certain corners has taken a turn. The optmism that ran rampant when the Raiders clinched their first playoff berth since 2002 has – well – dwindled.

But McGloin and this Raiders team can reignite it with a solid showing against their hated archrival in Denver. And to do that, they’ll need to keep things simple.

Simple, in this case, means doing what they’ve been doing pretty well for a while now – run the ball down their throats, play some solid defense, and force some big turnovers. Basically, follow the same script they used when they whipped these same Broncos 30-20 back in week nine.

If you recall, in that week nine tilt, it wasn’t Carr that won that game for Oakland. Carr, if you remember, only threw for 184 yards on 20 of 31 passing. He didn’t throw a touchdown in the game.

Oakland’s running game though, went off on Denver’s twenty-ninth ranked run defense. Latavius Murray, Jalen Richard, and DeAndre Washington ripped the Broncos for a combined 218 yards (a season high) and three touchdowns.

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The offensive line – arguably, the best in football – dominated the line of scrimmage and allowed the Raiders to control the clock. If you recall, the Raiders held the ball for nearly 42 minutes in that game. With long, time consuming, methodical drives, the Raiders imposed their will and ripped the hearts out of Denver’s defense – ranked sixth overall this season.

On the defensive side of the ball, Oakland’s defense showed up big. They held the Broncos to 299 total yards and forced two turnovers. They held Denver’s running game in check – to the tune of a meager 33 yards. They limited Denver to 13 total first downs and three of 11 third down conversions. And Oakland’s defense also hung a pair of sacks on Trevor Siemian

It was as dominating as the Raiders have been all season. And make no mistake, that was an absolutely masterful and dominating performance.

One they will need to repeat in Sunday’s regular season finale.

They’ll know by kickoff whether or not they have a shot at the AFC’s top seed. If the Miami Dolphins can do the seemingly impossible and knock off Tom Brady and the Patriots, all Oakland needs to do is win and home field throughout will be theirs.

If the Patriots pull out the win in Miami, the Raiders still have plenty left to play for – the AFC’s second seed, a first round bye, and a home playoff game.

A first round bye could be huge for this team as it transitions to McGloin under center. It would give him and the offense an additional week to build some chemistry. Having McGloin on the same page with Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree, Seth Roberts, and Clive Walford is essential. And given that McGloin didn’t get a lot of first team reps this season, the extra time could pay big dividends.

The Raiders don’t need McGloin to become Carr. But they need him to make the throws when he needs to – such as when Denver loads up the box to stop the running game. A quick pop downfield could really put the Broncos back on their heels.

But more than anything, the Raiders need to keep the gameplan simple – not because McGloin can’t handle it, but because it was so effective the first time around. The Raiders just need to run it, run it some more, and keep running it until Denver proves they can stop it.

Next: Losing Carr A Blow, Not Necessarily A Death Knell

It may not be flashy or entirely sexy – and it may not net you a lot of fantasy points – but it proved highly effective back in week nine and could yield some positive results this time around as well.

And in the end, a win is always pretty. Especially a win in a game like this, where there is so much still hanging in the balance.