Oakland Raiders @ Broncos Preview: 3 Key Questions
October 11, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; General view of the line of scrimmage between the Oakland Raiders and the Denver Broncos during the fourth quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Raiders defeated the Broncos 16-10. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
JBB columnist Nick Hjeltness breaks down the Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos matchup and asks three key questions going into Week 14.
The Oakland Raiders travel to Mile High on Sunday in a divisional showdown with the Denver Broncos.
Oakland is 5-7 and battling to get back into the playoff race. Denver is 10-2 and in a three-way tie with Cincinnati and New England for home-field advantage in the playoffs.
These two teams met in Week 5, with Denver squeezing out the victory in a close game, 16-10.
The Raiders were trailing 9-7 with about seven minutes left in the game, and had marched into Denver territory. A disconnect led to a Derek Carr pass being picked off by Chris Harris, who returned it 76 yards for a touchdown.
On the Carr INT: Neither WR running a crossing route was looking for the ball. Looks like it was going to Roberts.https://t.co/cj7ww6Svka
— Nick Hjeltness (@NickHjeltness) October 11, 2015
That gave Denver a 16-7 lead, and Oakland was only able to add a FG before the final whistle. It was a tough loss for Oakland, who was 2-2 at the time. The game wasn’t pretty for either team, but the Raiders played hard and had a chance to win it, but ultimately came up short. A few things have changed since then, notably the opposing starting QB. Peyton Manning is dealing with a foot injury, so Oakland will face Brock Osweiler this time around. Osweiler has played well in his time as the starter and Denver still has arguably the best defense in the NFL, ranking 1st in yards allowed per game and 2nd in points allowed per game. Will Oakland fare better in the rematch? Here are three key questions for the upcoming game.
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