Dominance has defined the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders during the Peyton Manning era. In six meetings, Manning is 6-0 against the silver and black, sporting an average margin of victory of 22.83 points.
Denver has scored 30+ points in all but one game, a December matchup in Oakland that also yielded Denver’s thinnest margin of victory – 13 points.
But Jack Del Rio’s Radiers have shown improvement and no one is quite ready to toss them aside as a possible division contender. At 2-2 with a home win over Baltimore, Oakland needs a win against the Broncos and/or the Chargers next week to avoid completely falling out of the division race.
On paper, Denver should roll in this game. Oakland has the No. 31 passing defense in the league and Peyton Manning is finally starting to click in his new hybrid offense. The Raiders have a surprisingly good passing attack through three games, averaging 255.5 yards per game and allowing just five sacks of Derek Carr, but Denver has the best pass rush in the NFL and lockdown corners that have their pass defense atop the league in yards allowed.
But Oakland has proved wily, although inconsistent, through four games. The Ravens win was a huge boost, but losing a very winnable game in Chicago leads us to believe the Raiders don’t have a firm foot on the ground as they take the next step back towards competitiveness.
Denver will win this game, but it won’t be a rout like we’re used to seeing. Here’s four bold predictions for Broncos-Raiders Part 1.
