You know that old line about what happens when an irresistible force meets and immovable object? The Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders are about to conduct their own version of this as the Denver pass rush (irresistible force) meets what may be pro football’s version of the ultimate movable object in the Raiders offensive line.
It’s the ultimate version of NFL rubbernecking, and it’s hard to imagine this being anything but bad. The Broncos pass rush had a relatively down week this week, picking up only two sacks against quarterback Marcus Mariota of the Washington Commanders, and they’ll be looking to get their numbers back to the usual five sacks a game.
They’ve got the perfect target in this one. Raiders quarterback Geno Smith just got sacked five times in Las Vegas’s 31-14 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, and before that he was sacked ten times against defensive end Myles Garrett and the Cleveland Browns.
That game represents the blueprint for this one. Garrett had three sacks in that one, but the rest of his defensive mates ran wild, and Smith was so frustrated that he ended up flipping off fans after the game, then having to apologize for it later.
Hopefully it won’t come to that in this one, but it’s hard to see what strategy new Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Olson will employ that will slow down the Denver pass rush with any level of effectiveness.
The Raiders simply don’t have the bodies up front to counter Denver’s speed and quickness off the edge, and Denver can bring plenty of pressure up the middle with inside linebackers Alex Singleton and Dre Greenlaw if defensive coordinator Vance Joseph wants to change up and give Las Vegas a different look.
Normally the run game and screen game might be an effective answer to this sort of thing, but not with the Raiders. Running back Ashton Jeanty might turn into a player down the line, but right now he’s having a brutal rookie season in which he can’t find holes or running lanes anywhere.
There’s also a fun individual battle looming in this one. Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto has 10.5 sacks, but his pace has been slowed recently, while Maxx Crosby comes into this one with eight. Crosby has somehow been getting sacks despite the relative lack of talent around him, so it will be interesting to see if he can keep up.