Raiders vs Broncos Monday Night: Which Team Will Gain Early AFC West Lead?

After an exciting weekend of the football, Week 1 officially closes out with the Oakland Raiders traveling to Denver, CO to play their division-rival Broncos in The Mile High City.

And much like the earlier Monday night game between New England and Miami, or a few games on Sunday such as New York at Washington, Indianapolis at Houston, Tennessee at Jacksonville, or Pittsburgh at Baltimore-this is a big divisional matchup early on.

All games on the schedule are important, but they become greatly enhanced when it's against a division opponent.

Therefore, not only is the Raiders-Broncos game going to be huge for both franchises, but last year Oakland went 6-0 in the AFC West, yet somehow managed to only go 2-8 outside of it, thus missing the playoffs.

Denver on the other hand, finished 4-12, and had one of their worst season's in team history.

In addition, the San Diego Chargers started out slow against Minnesota at home, but managed to mount a comeback and steal a W, while the 2010 champion Kansas City Chiefs were blasted 41-7 by the Buffalo Bills at Arrowhead Stadium.

So it appears that 2011 is going to be one abnormal season, and within itself, the AFC West truly begins on Monday night.

All this being said, who comes out on top, and why, between Denver and Oakland?

Well for starters, Oakland dominated the Broncos in Mile High last season 59-14, so first off, expect Denver to come out with added motivation.

Also, this offseason Oakland CB Nnamdi Asomugha neglected to re-sign in The Bay Area and is now with the Philadelphia Eagles.

In turn, that makes the Raiders' pass defense a lot more vulnerable, which only plays to the strength of Denver.

Therefore, expect Kyle Orton to drop back quite often, but only after they try to establish a rushing attack, because keeping the Oakland defense honest is the key to Denver's passing game.

Now when the Raiders have the ball, Denver rookie pass rusher Von Miller must play well in order to force Oakland out of their game plan.

Running the ball with Darren McFadden is going to be a priority for the Raiders, and if Denver wants a chance, they must limit him as much as possible.

Jason Campbell isn't looked at as a solid NFL QB, but he can be very effective when given multiple opportunities with the help of a great run-game.

In the end, Denver's significantly improved front-seven slows McFadden down and forces Campbell to throw more than planned.

Also, with an Asomugha-less secondary, Broncos' QB Kyle Orton goes off, but not before new head coach John Fox rides the legs of RB Knowshon Moreno to setup the play-action.

Prediction: Denver 27, Oakland 10

Be sure to check out John on Bleacher Report.

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