Dennis Allen during a game against the Oakland Raiders. (Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE)

Now that things have settled down a bit after the draft, let’s get back to looking ahead at the Broncos 2012 schedule. We will continue to take a game-by-game look at the season that the team has in front of them. 

The Broncos take to the road in week 14 to play their last primetime game of the regular season against the Oakland Raiders. It’s a short week for both teams since they play Sunday and then turn around to play again on Thursday night.

The Broncos and Raiders will have met in week 4. The two teams split games in 2011.

The Raiders ranked 16th in points (22.4 per game), 7th in rushing, and 11th in passing. Defensively, they were ranked 29th in points allowed (27.1 per game), and they were 27th in rushing and passing defense.

The Raiders lost some key players in free agency. They let Michael Bush, Kevin Boss, and Kamerion Wimberly walk.

The Raiders did well in the draft considering they didn’t have their first pick until the third round. It was there that they selected guard Tony Bergstrom out of Utah. They selected four defensive players and three offensive players.

It will be very interesting to see how Dennis Allen does in his first season as head coach. He’s a game changer holding the clipboard and knows the Broncos all too well. This one certainly isn’t a lock.

Early Prediction: Broncos – 20 Raiders – 17 in overtime.

Raiders Leaders in 2011:

Carson Palmer – 199-for-328 (60.7%), 2,753 passing yards, 13 TDs, 16 INTs. 

Michael Bush – 977 yards (61.1 yards per game), 7 TDs, 1 Fumble

Darrius Heyward-Bey – 64 receptions, 975 yards, 4 TDs, 1 Fumble

Tyvon Branch – 109 tackles

Matt Giordano – 5 INTs, 70 tackles

Tommy Kelly – 7.5 sacks

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McFadden is ranked 8th in rushing average with 87.7 yards per game. He was lost early in the first quarter in week 7 when the Raiders played Kansas City.

Without McFadden, the team will rely on Michael Bush. Against the Chiefs, Bush had 99 rushing yards on 17carries.

The Broncos are prepared for Bush who is a down-the-field runner that will pound the middle.

Bush has a career average of 4.4 yards per carry and 17 career touchdowns.

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Darren McFadden lunged for one of his four touchdowns last October. (Eric Lars Bakke/Denver Broncos)

One of the biggest issues for the Broncos last year was stopping the run. That issue was highlighted, put on stage, and probably should have been put on the short bus when the team played the Raiders last season.

A brief flashback:

October 24, 2010 – Raiders at Broncos. Darren McFadden was THE man to have on your fantasy team this week. He amassed 165 rushing yards on 16 carries and 3 touchdowns (He also added 2 receptions for 31 yards and 1 more touchdown). The Broncos gave up 328 rushing yards in a Raiders win 59-14.

December 19, 2010 – Broncos at Raiders. You know when that look that Michael Jordan got in his eyes when he saw a smaller defender coming off the bench to guard him? That’s the same look that the Raiders gave when they saw the Broncos run defense come to town. The Broncos gave up 119 yards to McFadden and they let Michael Bush walk into the endzone two times. The Broncos gave up 264 yards on the ground in a 39-23 Raiders win.

That’s enough with the PTSD-like flashbacks. If you fast-forward to this season, three major things have changed. The Broncos get a defensive minded head coach, they drafted an aggressive, sack hungry linebacker with the No. 2 overall pick, and they also get to reap the benefits of Elvis Dumervil’s return.
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