For the younger Denver Broncos fans, Sunday night may have been a bit of a new experience for you.
After all, over the past 23 meetings between the Broncos and Oakland Raiders, Denver has won 15 times. A sports rivalry loses some of its luster when one team wins most of the time.
The Broncos never lost to Oakland with Peyton Manning at quarterback and even managed to beat them with Tim Tebow under center. And while Oakland may lead the overall series 61-49-2, they haven’t even made the postseason since 2002, and they haven’t won a Super Bowl since Ronald Reagan was in office.
But on Sunday, the Raiders beat the Broncos, for the second time in a row.
We all remember last December when Oakland came to Denver and beat the then-led Brock Osweiler Broncos 15-12.
But that game felt like a fluke.
The Broncos turned the ball over twice and allowed Raider linebacker Khalil Mack to completely dominate the game. Mack finished with five sacks and a forced fumble, but the young Raider offense managed just 126 total yards.
The Raiders would finish the season 7-9 and watch the postseason on television, with the rest of us. The Broncos would go on to win Super Bowl 50, and post one of the greatest postseason defensive performances in NFL history.
But in the offseason, it seems that Oakland head coach Jack Del Rio and the rest of the Raider faithful have drawn a bulls-eye on the Denver Broncos. And after Sunday night, last December looks like less of a fluke.
The Raiders have assembled a very formidable offensive line that is both capable of protecting their young, talented quarterback and opening some major running lanes. On Sunday night, that offensive line punched the Denver defense in the mouth.
And for the first time in recent memory, it was the Broncos that blinked.
Oakland racked up 218 yards on 43 carries, and as a result of controlling the line of scrimmage, they also controlled the clock. The time of possession was tilted heavily in favor of the Silver and Black, as they played keep away for over 40 minutes. Not only did that keep the Denver defense off balance, but it also kept the Oakland defense, which has been very suspect at times, watching on the sideline.
Meanwhile, on the offensive side of the ball, the Broncos were as inconsistent as ever. They converted just three third down conversions and managed a paltry 33 yards rushing.
Now questions are swirling.
“Should Trevor Siemian be benched in favor of rookie Paxton Lynch?”
“Does Kapri Bibbs deserve some more playing time, after breaking a 69-yard screen pass for a touchdown?”
And of course, “Why does it seem as though Demaryius Thomas is wearing his winter mittens instead of wide receiver gloves?”
Those are all relevant and poignant questions, but until the Broncos shore up their offensive line woes, we are probably kidding ourselves.
We actually did see some flashes of improvement, as small as they may have been.
Donald Stephenson was up to the task of blocking Mack at times, but in the end Mack would win both the battle and the war. This unit is going to take more time to develop and start making some strides.
Sunday night in Oakland was no accident.
So, let’s all dig out our “Raider Hater” t-shirts and start poking those Oakland voodoo dolls.
The Oakland Raiders are simply better in the trenches right now, and they are not going away.
The Broncos-Raiders rivalry is alive once again, and that isn’t a bad thing.
These two teams will square off again in the regular season finale, and this time the game will be played one mile above sea level.
And that game could have significantly more on the line.
