The Las Vegas Raiders have been among the worst teams in the league during the 2025 NFL season. They got blown out by the Los Angeles Chargers, the Washington Commanders, the Indianapolis Colts and the Kansas City Chiefs in a matter of weeks, and they've choked away three other close games.
They did catch the New England Patriots at the right time and pulled out a victory that looks more surprising with each passing week. But other than that, the Raiders' claim to fame this year is a fairly close win at home against the hapless 1-8 Tennessee Titans.
Given all of this, it is a major shock that the Silver and Black were able to hang with the AFC West-leading Denver Broncos in Week 10 on Thursday Night Football. Although the Broncos are now 8-2 and second in the AFC playoff picture, they're not as mighty as most would have fans believe.
Former Raider Marcel Reece called it like it is for Broncos in 2025
After scraping by Las Vegas with a 10-7 win last week, Denver has come under a bit of fire for potentially being pretenders, not contenders. Former Raiders All-Pro fullback Marcel Reece appeared on the Up & Adams Show on Friday, and he said what every fan was thinking about the Broncos.
"Right now, the Broncos aren't necessarily fixing the mistakes that they're making. You can tell right now they have the makings of a good team, but they're just gonna be a good regular season team. They may even win the division. But you start to see that this is a one-and-done team," Reece said. "When it gets to the playoffs, you cannot be one-dimensional, you can't depend on your defense to bail you out every single time."
Of course, this quote should be understood in the context of just how much of a Raider Reece is. He played seven seasons in Oakland and was hired to an executive position in the front office in 2020, even becoming the team's Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff before resigning in 2023.
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Now, however, he is free to speak objectively as a member of the media, and he hit the nail on the head here about the Broncos. Yes, they are a talented team, particularly on defense, but it doesn't seem like they have the pieces to lead a deep push in the playoffs.
After all, they squeaked by the 2-7 Raiders, the 1-8 Titans, the 2-7 New York Jets, and the 2-8 New York Giants. They also beat the Joe Burrow-less Cincinnati Bengals and eked by the 4-5 Houston Texans without CJ Stroud.
Reece talked about head coach Sean Payton and Bo Nix, and while giving them both credit for their success, he noted that there is a disconnect between what they want to accomplish and what they feasibly can accomplish.
The Broncos are a better team than the Raiders; there is no doubt about that. But just how good Denver is remains to be seen. On Sunday, they'll face off against the Chiefs in a major divisional bout, and something tells me that things may come crashing back down to earth for the Broncos.
If they do, Reece and Raider Nation won't be surprised.