- What: NFL Regular Season Game
- When: Sunday, October 6th
- Who: Las Vegas Raiders vs. Denver Broncos
- Time: 1:05 p.m. PST
- Where: Mile High Stadium (Denver, CO)
The Las Vegas Raiders are on the road in week five as they head to Colorado to face AFC West rival the Denver Broncos. The Raiders have won eight straight against the Broncos and nine of the last ten matchups. The Raiders and Broncos have both started the season 2-2
However, the Broncos have won the last two in upset fashion over the Jets and Bucs. The Raiders upset the Browns at home last week despite missing Davante Adams and Maxx Crosby.
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders seem to have a lot of drama surrounding them currently. Regarding the Davante Adams trade request, Head Coach Antonio Pierce was questioned after he liked Instagram posts suggesting that Adams should be traded.
Meanwhile, 16 players were on Thursday’s injury report, and star defensive end Maxx Crosby should play but will likely not be 100%.
The on-field play has been a mixed bag. The Raiders narrowly escaped last week with a win over the visiting Cleveland Browns, 20-16. Their offense has been struggling to get anything going on the ground this season, averaging 76.3 rushing yards per game, the 31st in the league.
????On assignment.#LVvsDEN | ???? FOX pic.twitter.com/kCqvzx6RDB
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 6, 2024
It doesn’t seem like this week will be any easier for the Raiders rushing attack as they face a Broncos team that’s allowing less than four yards per carry to opposing runners. Zamir White will miss the game, which means Alexander Mattison will get the bulk of the carries.
The offense ranks 20th in scoring and 24th in total offense. The Broncos defense and cornerback Patrick Surtain II should not have problems solving the Raiders offense without Adams.
Surtain will likely follow Jakobi Meyers while the rest of the team focuses on limiting Raiders tight end Brock Bowers.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos success this season has been built off the back of their outstanding defense. They are third in points allowed and only allow 4.2 yards per play.
They rank top five in both pressure rate and DVOA, which should make passing the ball very difficult for Raiders quarterback Gardener Minshew. Like most quarterbacks, Minshew struggles under pressure, where his passer rating drops from 96 with a clean pocket down to 62 when pressured.
It's a throwback GAMEDAY in the Mile High City. ????
RT if you're ready to #ThrowbackTo77! pic.twitter.com/LR0puUglkn
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) October 6, 2024
While the Broncos offense could be better, rookie quarterback Bo Nix has been improving every week. He has been limiting his mistakes and managing the game so their defense can put them in a position to win.
Nix has looked better the past two weeks, in part due to the improvement of the Broncos offensive line. They haven’t allowed a sack in the past two weeks after allowing two sacks in the each of the first two games of the season.
Raiders-Broncos Best Bet
This rivalry matchup has been too one-sided for the past five years, and it seems like that’s going to change today. This Raiders team is dealing with too many distractions and injuries as it heads to face its AFC West rival.
Unless the Raiders defense can create some turnovers to generate some short fields, it will be very difficult for them to get anything going on the offensive end.
The Broncos should be able to win this one because of the mismatch on the defensive side of the ball. I don’t see how the Raiders will be able to generate enough offense to win this one.
Take the Broncos on the moneyline because the spread is now Broncos-3 and that’s a key number.
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Tony Reyes is a sports betting analyst and reporter for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X @TonyParlay.
