Oakland Raiders @ Denver Broncos
You can call me a homer, but I saw a lot of good things from the Denver Broncos last Sunday.
Despite throwing three interceptions, Case Keenum had a good authority of the offense and there seemed to be a swagger that was missing from last season. Most importantly for Keenum, he got Emmanuel Sanders involved early.
The three biggest issues start with the fact that Keenum needs to do a better job of making reads.
His interceptions weren’t risky throws where he was just trying to make a play, they were just bad throws altogether. Obviously, without knowing what routes the receivers were supposed to run it’s tough to truly evaluate who is to blame, but those throws were so bad.
The second area to improve is defending the big play. Seattle was getting chunk plays against Denver’s defense like nobody’s business. There wasn’t a lot of dinking and dunking, it was either a Von Miller sack or a Seattle first down.
Lastly, the Broncos need to learn how to cover a tight end. It’s been an epidemic and a point of contention for many Bronco fans. Unfortunately for Denver, we are in a good division where we face Travis Kelce, the rejuvenated Jared Cook, and when healthy, Hunter Henry.
At least those tight ends are considered to be some of the top tight ends in the game. However, when rookie Will Dissly begins torching your team’s defense, you know you have a problem. There was nothing exciting about his receiving abilities coming out of college, and he was seen primarily as a blocker.
The Raiders, on the other hand, are coming off a big loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Jon Gruden’s debut. To his credit, the Raiders came out looking good, but as the game wore on, the Rams finally cracked the oldest team in the league.
By the end of this season, I fully expect the Raiders to be the worst team in the AFC West.
I also fully expect Keenum to fix some of his mistakes and put on a show Sunday. It will certainly help that he does not need to worry about franchise player Khalil Mack who is now a Chicago Bear.
For more information on this matchup, co-editor Ty Walden wrote a preview piece for Sunday.
Line: Broncos -6
Pick: Broncos