The Denver Broncos are in about as good of a position as can be, sitting at 10-2 as the American Football Conference West division leaders and one game behind the New England Patriots for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoff picture.
The Broncos travel to Las Vegas for a divisional matchup with the Raiders in Week 14, in what should be an easy win for Denver, right? Don’t be so sure.
This could be a trap game for the Broncos if they aren’t careful. ESPN’s Ben Solak told readers not to be surprised if this is the week the Broncos suffer a big loss.
“The Rams were 9.5-point favorites when the Panthers shocked them last week, serving as a good reminder that any team can lose at any time in the NFL,” Solak wrote Saturday. “The Broncos are 7.5-point favorites in Las Vegas, playing a Raiders team that matched up well against them in the first meeting. Denver is also on a shorter week, coming off an overtime game Sunday night. This one might get ugly.”
During the first matchup between these foes, Denver’s offense was abysmal and could barely move the ball, especially when star running back J.K. Dobbins went down with an eventual season-ending foot injury.
Las Vegas’ defense played a strong game and were able to intercept Broncos quarterback Bo Nix twice, holding him to just 150 yards and a touchdown while completing 16 of 28 passes. Star edge rusher Maxx Crosby has been on the injury report this week with a knee injury and is officially questionable to play Sunday.
If Crosby can’t go, the Broncos should be able to generate some more offense. But a key contributor in the first meeting was Dobbins, who was fifth in rushing yards prior to his season-ending injury. Dobbins was injured on a hip-drop tackle that should have resulted in a penalty and a fine, but the National Football League deemed the tackle was clean.
Teams don’t forget stuff, and if Denver has been thinking about that injury to their star running back, they will play with extra juice.
As long as Raiders quarterback Geno Smith doesn’t turn into Tom Brady by game time, Denver’s defense should be able to wreak havoc on Smith and the broken Raiders offensive line. Smith was intercepted and sacked six times in the Week 10 meeting, and if he doesn’t get the ball out quickly, he’s in for another beating.