Raiders-Broncos Preview: Part Two

Denver is coming off a historical game which saw fullback and linebacker—yeah, I said it: fullback and linebacker—Spencer Larsen start on both sides of the ball. Larsen became only the third player to ever accomplish this in an NFL game.

Denver edged the Atlanta Falcons, 24-20, in a big victory to put the Broncos up two full games on the San Diego Chargers, who lost an 11-10 nail-biter to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jay Cutler was near-perfect for Denver, completing 19-of-27 passes 216 yards and one touchdown. Brandon Marshall received 89 of those yards.

Oakland was beaten by a field goal with 38 seconds left by Miami kicker Dan Carpenter. Oakland is now 2-8 on the season with the loss.

Injury Report

Oakland

QB—JaMarcus Russel, Probable
QB—Andrew Walter, Probable
RB—Darren McFadden, Probable
WR—Javon Walker, Injured Reserve
WR—Chaz Schilens, Probable
C—Jake Grove, Questionable
LB—Ricky Brown, Questionable
DE—Derrick Burgess, Questionable
S—Gibril Wilson, Probable

Denver

RB—Selvin Young, Probable
RB—P.J. Pope, Probable
TE—Tony Scheffler, Probable
LB—Nate Webster, Questionable
LB—D.J. Williams, Questionable
DT—Dewayne Robertson, Probable
CB—Champ Bailey, Probable
S—Marlon McCree, Questionable

Oakland is beat up all over its team, not to mention it is a bad unit to begin with. The Broncos will likely have back D.J. Williams and Champ Bailey, who are two of the biggest keys to their defense.

Game Predictions

Oakland

QB—JaMarcus Russell- 16-30, 187 yards, 1 td, 3 int
RB—Justin Fargas- 15 carries, 76 yards
WR—Johnnie Lee Higgins- 3 catches, 38 yards, 6 kick returns, 198 yards
TE—Zach Miller- 5 catches, 69 yards, 1 td
LB—Kirk Morrison- 11 tackles
DE—Kalimba Edwards- 5 tackles, 1 sack
CB—Nnamdi Asomugha- 7 tackles, 1 int
S—Gibril Wilson- 10 tackles

Denver

QB—Jay Cutler- 26-35, 320 yards, 3 td, 1 int
RB—Peyton Hillis, 12 carries, 51 yards, 1 td
WR—Brandon Marshall- 7 catches, 128 yards, 1 td
WR—Eddie Royal- 6 catches, 76 yards, 1 td
DE—Elvis Dumervil- 6 tackles, 2 sacks
LB—D.J. Williams- 14 tackles, 1 int
LB—Wesley Woodyard- 11 tackles
CB—Dre Bly- 6 tackles, 1 int

Denver 34, Oakland 13

Oakland surprisingly has a good pass defense, but when your quarterback is Jay Cutler, anything can happen. I also expect Tatum Bell to have a big day against a terrible Raiders run "D."

Any questions, comments, agreements, disagreements? Let me know with a comment.