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The storied rivalry between the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders will write yet another chapter Sunday at Invesco Field at Mile High. The first place Broncos (6-4) are coming off of two of their more gutsy wins this season...

Broncos-Raiders: Denver Looks To Continue Second-Half Surge Against Oakland

by Sayre Bedinger (Senior Writer)

6

647 reads

Preview/Prediction

November 19, 2008


The storied rivalry between the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders will write yet another chapter Sunday at Invesco Field at Mile High.

The first place Broncos (6-4) are coming off of two of their more gutsy wins this season.

Plagued by injuries on both sides of the ball, the Broncos have rebounded from three straight losses and beat the Browns and Falcons, and they have done so thanks large in part to the play of their outstanding rookie class.

Inversely, the Oakland Raiders went from what was supposed to be the surprise team of the NFL to the duds that they truly are deep down, and it begins with Al Davis.

Davis fired former Head Coach Lane Kiffin and cut ties with Oakland's most expensive offseason acquisition in DeAngelo Hall.

Still, the young Raiders have a chance to prove themselves on a big stage against the division leaders.

Since Mike Shanahan became the Head Coach of the Denver Broncos after being fired in Oakland (much similar to the way Kiffin was punted out), he has beaten the Raiders more than any team, most recently Week One of this season, which resulted in a 41-17 thrashing of his former team.

Denver boasts the AFC's most explosive offense, and the Raiders statistically have the NFL's worst.

Both teams find struggles on the defensive side of the ball, and either squad has played with some grit in their teeth the last couple of weeks. 

Two of the game's best defensive backs will be featured in this one, those being Denver cornerback Champ Bailey and Oakland cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha.

Oakland also has a fierce pair of linebackers in Kirk Morrisson and Thomas Howard, both of whom are tackling artists.

Sadly, those are really the only bright spots on Oakland's team, and unless JaMarcus Russell can save the day, they will have a tough time handling the Broncos on the road.

Denver is led by Pro-Bowl and MVP candidate Jay Cutler, who has emerged as a star in 2008. Cutler has hit targets in the end zone 19 times this season and has accumulated the third-most passing yards in the NFL.

The Broncos have a two-game lead over San Diego in the AFC West and will hopefully widen the gap after Sunday's bout with the Raiders.

I will give my predictions and pregame analysis either tomorrow or Friday.

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6 comments Last one added 7 months ago — Leave a Comment

  1. Tanner Thoms 7 months ago

    Sayre, don't take candy from Rich.

    I think the Broncos will once again whoop the Raiders mainly because Denver is good and the Raiders are not. Looking forward to your game predictions, bro.

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  2. Henry Gula 7 months ago

    Good article, Sayre. I definitely think that the Broncos will be able to put on a pretty good show for us on Sunday, but I'll just be happy when they get a good lead at halftime, then I'll be able to really enjoy the second half.

    and Rich, ummm....that is pretty creepy not gonna lie.

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    • Sayre Bedinger 7 months ago

      I agree Henry. If we can get out to an early two score lead that would be nice. Then we could control it with Hillis and the running game. However, I'll take a W at any cost or score! And yeah that comment was pretty weird...

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  3. Raider Card Addict 7 months ago

    Just a question of wording, regarding the article.
    You mention that:
    Both teams find struggles on the defensive side of the ball, and either squad has played with some grit in their teeth the last couple of weeks.

    Are you implying that they are both struggling on the defensive side, but recently both defenses have played with some grit in their teeth?

    Sounds a little odd, just wanted to clarify it.

    Also, Oakland seemed to not miss DeAngelo Hall, the first game we played without him, we picked off Jake Delhomme 4 times. For the want of a good WR, we probably would have won that game...same goes for the Miami issue.

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    • Sayre Bedinger 7 months ago

      I think what I meant there was that both defenses have been bad, but recently they have played with some heart and passion. That may have been an editing deal, because I didn't say they play with grit in their teeth haha.

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