Knowshon Moreno (27) celebrates touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens. (US-PRESSWIRE)

The 11-3 Denver Broncos have won nine straight games, and they’re coming off of an impressive first-ever win in Baltimore. In fact, the Broncos are going after their third double digit winning streak in franchise history as they take on the 5-9 Cleveland Browns in week 16. The Browns lost their first five games of the season, but they’ve swept the AFC West up to this point, and they’ve beat the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals. The Broncos own an 18-15 advantage over the Browns all-time including a 9-3 record at home. The Browns have only had two winning seasons in the past 14 years. They are the youngest team in the league with 17 rookies on the active roster. Kickoff is set for 2:05 p.m. MST on CBS with Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts calling the game.

Offense

Broncos: The Broncos are finding balance on the offensive side of the ball with backup running back Knowshon Moreno. Moreno was named the AFC offensive player of the week after rushing for 118 yards on 22 carries and one touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens. Moreno has been following his blockers, and he’s being patient in making his cuts up field. That will go a long way against the Browns who are better at stopping the run than they are the pass. Protecting Peyton Manning once again is task No. 1. The Browns are 10th in sacks with 36 on the year. Guard Chris Kuper is being held out again with an ankle injury. Look for Manning to have well over 300 yards against this 24th ranked pass defense. The Browns gave up 329 yards and two touchdowns to rookie Kirk Cousins last week.

Browns: The Browns’ one-two punch in the passing game and in the running game are led by two rookies. Brandon Weeden has the 3rd most interceptions this season with 17 picks. His 14 touchdowns on the year haven’s cut it either. Running back Trent Richardson is only putting up 64.1 yards per game, but he has 11 rushing touchdowns this season. Josh Gordon is the team’s leading receiver with 54.2 yards per game. The Browns struggle the most on 3rd down and in the red zone. Just 31.1% of their plays on third down bring them a new set of downs which is 30th in the league. They’re also 30th in the red zone, getting touchdowns just 41.7% of the time.

Defense

Broncos: With good pressure, turnovers will come against this young Browns’ team. First, the key is stopping Richardson in the run game. The Broncos have done a great job of that this season as evidenced by their No. 2 ranked run defense. The team is 8th against the pass, and they’re allowing 19.6 points per game. As long as the defense doesn’t let up, this is a Browns offense that is outmatched in all areas of the field. This game will be good practice for a defense that’s looking to put together a complete 60-minute game. Last week, the Broncos held the Ravens to 3 points up until the 4th quarter. Then they gave up a 31-yard touchdown and a 61-yard touchdown to tight end Dennis Pitta.

Browns: The Broncos’ coaching staff has praised the Browns defense plenty this week. They’re physical and aggressive, and right now, they’ve got nothing to lose. They’re giving up 22.1 points per game, they have the same number of interceptions as the Broncos (16), and they’ve forced 23 fumbles (12 recovered). D’Qwell Jackson is a tackling machine with 106 this season, and Juqua Parker leads the team in sacks with 6. Sheldon Brown and Joe Haden each have 3 picks. If the Broncos are careless, this is the kind of defense that will create turnovers.

Special Teams

Broncos: There have been highs and there have been lows for this special teams’ unit in recent weeks. We know that kicker Matt Prater and punter Britton Colquitt are solid tacklers, but that points to coverage issues. Prater missed another field goal last week in garbage time from 45 yards out.

Browns: Like Jacoby Jones last week, Josh Cribbs has some jets in the return game. He’s averaging 27.6 yards per kick return, and has a long of 74 yards this year. He also has a long of 60 yards in the punt return game. Prater absolutely needs to boot it out of the end zone every time this week. Kicker Phil Dawson has only missed one field goal this year.

Coaching

Broncos: John Fox and Co. have worked wonders with the players they have on the roster. When one goes down due to injury, the back up steps up in a big way. Look at Dan Koppen, Keith Brooking, and Knowshon Moreno stepping in for J.D. Walton, Joe Mays, and Willis McGahee, respectively. It’s a testament to the way the Broncos practice and prepare players during the week.

Browns: Pat Shurmur is the Browns’ 6th head coach since 1999, and he’s trying to win with youth on his side. He’s basically a glorified college coach this season, but with the talent that this team has, the Browns could finally be on their way up in the near future.

Prediction: Broncos – 30 Browns- 14

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Peyton Manning (18) gestures during the game against the Oakland Raiders at the O.co Coliseum. The Broncos defeated the Raiders 26-13. (Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports)

The 10-3 Denver Broncos are going after their 9th straight win, but they’ve never beat the 9-4 Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore since the team moved there (0-5 on the road including one playoff game). Peyton Manning on the other hand is 7-2 against the Ravens with 17 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, and an average QBR of 95.5.  Overall, the Ravens hold a 3-5 advantage over the Broncos all-time. The Ravens enter week 15 having lost two games in a row which hasn’t happened since 2009. Four Broncos (Justin Bannan, Brandon Stokley, Matt Willis, and Jim Leonhard) played for the Ravens at one time or another in their careers. Kickoff is set for 11:00 a.m. MDT on CBS with Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf calling the game.

Offense

Broncos: It’s not just enough to move the ball effectively. The Broncos had 428 yards of total offense last week against the Oakland Raiders, but they had to settle for four field goals. That won’t cut it against the Ravens who are 10th in scoring defense and 1st in red zone defense. The Broncos should be able to run on the Ravens who have given up at least 172 yards on the ground in four games this season. The Broncos look to have guard Chris Kuper back in the lineup which would be huge. Manning was sacked three times in the first half of last week’s game, and 17 of his 19 sacks this season have come when Kuper hasn’t been in the lineup. The Broncos are 2nd in scoring (28.8) and 4th in yards per game (390.1). Manning has had four 300+ yard passing games during the team’s eight game winning streak.

Ravens: It’s very unusual for the offensive coordinator of a 9-3 team to get canned, but that’s what happened to Cam Cameron after the Ravens’ last loss. Manning’s former coach in Indianapolis, Jim Caldwell, will take the reins of the offense. The team is 9th in scoring (25.5) and 18th in yards per game (344.4). The Ravens can be explosive on the ground and in the air, particularly with Ray Rice who has 872 rushing yards and 409 receiving yards. In fact, Rice is the 3rd most targeted receiver on the team, and he comes up big on third down. Of course, the Broncos also have to account for Anquan Boldin who leads the team in receiving yards (828) and Torrey Smith who leads the team in receiving touchdowns (7). Tight end Dennis Pitta is a huge threat in the red zone as well. With Rice and Pitta, the Broncos’ linebackers and safeties will have a massive workload on Sunday.

Defense

Broncos: Joe Flacco has been sacked 12 times in the last four games. In the Ravens’ four losses this season, Flacco has been sacked 11 times, he’s thrown 5 interceptions, and he’s lost 2 fumbles. Von Miller is 2nd in the NFL in sacks with 16, and Elvis Dumervil is 2nd with 6 forced fumbles. If those two guys can apply pressure, Flacco will make some mistakes. With Caldwell steering the ship now, expect Ray Rice to touch the ball more, and expect to see more no-huddle because that’s what Flacco excels in. It seems like if defenses can apply enough pressure to Flacco, the passing game tanks. Flacco has failed to go above 200 yards passing in six games this season.

Ravens: This isn’t the Ravens defense that we’re used to seeing. They’re 28th in yards allowed (375.9), and they have a 25th ranked rush defense and a 23rd ranked pass defense. That’s what injuries to a few key stars will do to you. The Ravens haven’t been able to get stops in crunch time which is really killing them. Bernard Pollard leads the team in tackles with 98, Paul Kruger leads the team in sacks with 8, and Cary Williams and Ed Reed each have 4 interceptions to lead the team. Ray Lewis won’t decide if he’ll play until Sunday.

Special Teams

Broncos: The good news is Matt Prater is back on track after making all four of his field goals last week. Kickoff coverage for the Broncos has to be spot on. The Ravens are averaging 28.7 yards per kick return compared to the Broncos’ 23.8 yards per return.

Ravens: Jacoby Jones is deadly in the return game. He has 2 kickoffs returned for touchdowns and 1 punt returned for a touchdown. Kicker Justin Tucker has only missed two field goals this year, both from 40-49 yards out.

Coaching

Broncos: John Fox knows that this is an important game. It goes a long way in securing 2nd place in the AFC. However, he’ll get his men ready to play like it’s just another notch on the belt.

Ravens: John Harbaugh is as good a coach as there is. He’s led the Ravens to back-to-back 12-4 seasons, and won plenty of playoff games. The only one that’s missing is the AFC Championship. Expect a chess match between Fox and Harbaugh.

Prediction: Broncos – 27 Ravens- 24

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Ronnie Hillman (21) hops over the tackle of Oakland Raiders cornerback Pat Lee (26) during the second quarter of the game at Sports Authority Field. (Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports)

The 9-3 Denver Broncos have already clinched the AFC West, but they’re gunning for the No. 2 seed in the AFC. For them, there’s no better time to take on the 3-9 Oakland Raiders, who have lost five straight games. In team’s first meeting of the season, the Raiders kept it close, with a 10-6 Broncos’ lead at halftime. Then the offensive floodgates opened, and the Broncos rolled to a 37-6 win. This time the action takes place in the Black Hole where the Broncos are 21-31 all-time. With a win, the Broncos would have their first season sweep of the Raiders since 2006. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. MDT on the NFL Network with Brad Nessler and Mike Mayock calling the game.

Offense

Broncos: The Broncos exposed the frailties of the Raiders’ 32nd ranked scoring defense in week 4. Peyton Manning had 338 yards passing and three touchdowns while Willis McGahee averaged 5.9 yards per carry with 112 total rushing yards and a touchdown. The only mediocre part of this Broncos’ team is the rushing game. Since McGahee has been out with a torn MCL, the team has rushed for 95 and 91 yards against the Chiefs and Buccaneers, respectively. They’re 22nd in rushing with 103.3 yards per game. If the Broncos are going to make a deep run in the playoffs, this is what they need to improve on the most. The team could be without Brandon Stokley (hip) for the second straight week so look for a similar game plan the team used against the Bucs in that tight end Jacob Tamme will line up in the slot. The Broncos have put up over 30 points eight times this season.

Raiders: The Raiders are 13th in yards per game (361.8) and tied for 23rd in points per game (19.6), but Carson Palmer is always good for a pick or at least a lot of errant passes. Palmer went 19-for-34 for 202 yards in week 4. He has 20 touchdowns on the year, but also 13 interceptions. His main target lately has been tight end Brandon Myers who had 14 catches for 130 yards last week against the Browns. The Broncos have struggled against tight ends this season, and it doesn’t help that starting linebacker and team-leading tackler Wesley Woodyard is sitting this one out. The Raiders also employ their running backs in the receiving game. The team’s tight ends and running backs have combined for nearly 60% of all of Palmer’s completions this season. Look for the Raiders to run the ball more than their 16 attempts in week 4 so that they can keep Manning off the field. Darren McFadden looks to be back this week, and he’ll be functioning behind an offensive line that’s adjusted to its new zone blocking scheme.

Defense

Broncos: Myers had just 1 catch for 22 yards in the first meeting, but since then the Raiders’ receivers have been bit hard by the injury bug, and the tight end has had to step up. The Broncos can expect to be defending a lot of two back, two tight end formations. It will be interesting to see how former starting linebacker D.J. Williams does in place of Woodyard. Williams has 6 tackles and one pass defended in the three games he’s played this season. Now with his football legs back under him, let’s see if the old tackling machine is back. The Broncos’ defense didn’t allow a touchdown in week 4, and they did that one other time this season against the Chiefs. Palmer has been sacked 25 times this season, or 9 more times than Manning. The Broncos brought Palmer down 3 times earlier this season.

Raiders: It’s hard to understand playing for a coach like Dennis Allen, and being ranked 28th in yards per game allowed. They even gave up 475 yards to the Browns last week. In week 4, they gave up 503 yards to the Broncos. This is a good time for the Broncos to work on their three-receiver set and work on blocking up the middle. The Raiders are 28th in rush defense and 25th in pass defense, and they’re 31st in sacks with just 14 on the season. Von Miller had one more sack than the entire Raiders’ defense. Without pressure coming to the quarterback, you might think that the Raiders are covering well down field, but they only have 8 interceptions all year. This is the kind of defense that Manning dreams of.

Special Teams

Broncos: The Radiers have yet to meet Trindon Holliday, the team’s most exciting special teams player. Holliday broke for a 45-yard punt return last week, and put the Broncos in great field position to get the offense clicking. He already has a 105-yard kick return for a touchdown and a 76-yard punt return for a touchdown. Kicker Matt Prater has missed five field goals this year after not missing one in the team’s first eight games. He has three misses from 40-49 yards out, but he’s 3-for-4 from beyond 50 yards.

Raiders: Kick coverage for the Raiders has been spotty. They’re giving up 10.4 yards per punt return and 27.0 yards per kick return compared to the Broncos’ 4.8 yards and 21.1 yards, respectively. The Raiders do have a couple of the best legs in the game in Shane Lechler who is currently the league’s 9th best punter, and Sebastian Janikowski who has only missed two field goals this year.

Coaching

Broncos: John Fox has played in five Thursday night games, so he knows what it takes to get his team prepared on a short timetable. He had the coaching staff preparing for Oakland even before the Tampa Bay game, and he rested guys like Champ Bailey at the end of last week’s game to save their bodies a little bit.

Raiders: Dennis Allen lost his father on Tuesday, but returned to prepare for the Broncos on Wednesday. In the meantime, offensive coordinator Greg Knapp took the reins of the team.

Prediction: Broncos – 31 Raiders- 14

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