It was not until last season that the Denver Broncos beat the Las Vegas Raiders for the first time.
Obviously, the Broncos had beaten the Silver and Black before, but they had not taken down the franchise since they relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada. The Raiders had won eight straight games dating back to 2019, as well as 10 of the last 11 matchups.
Unfortunately, the Bo Nix-led Broncos swept Las Vegas last year. However, that was a bit of an anomaly as Denver caught lightning in a bottle with a rookie quarterback and the Raiders were a dumpster fire the entire year.
Raiders fan rejoice as NFL lines up primetime opportunity to crush Broncos
Las Vegas will have several opportunities to avenge those losses this season, but they will have to wait a few months until they get a crack at their AFC West rival.
With the NFL schedule now fully released, the first of the two matchups between these two teams will take place in Week 10. Las Vegas will travel to Denver for a Thursday Night Football matchup on November 6, which means the Raiders can crush the Broncos in front of a national audience.
Plenty will transpire in the first nine weeks of the NFL season, but as it stands now, these divisonal rivals are set up for two marquee matchups in the crux of the season.
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New head coach Pete Carroll has brought a swagger to the Raiders that they have not had in recent years. General manager John Spytek is also building the roster the right way, so there is tons to be excited about.
By that same token, there is tons for the Broncos to be worried about. Denver did not get much better this offseason, and they are relying on several high-dollar free agents to produce who have been incredibly injury-prone throughout their careers.
Matchups between the Raiders and Broncos are always exciting, no matter the circumstance. However, the tensions will be heightened in a primetime game, especially one played on a short week in the latter part of the season.
The Raiders are looking to climb back up the ranks in the AFC West, and this will be a pivotal contest for them to assert their dominance.