The Denver Broncos are set to take on the Las Vegas Raiders in week 6. Here are three things to look for during the must win game.
All of a sudden, the Denver Broncos are 3-2, after dropping two stinkers to the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Broncos face a pivotal week 6 matchup–this game feels like a must-win for Denver, and I truly think it is.
The Raiders are without Jon Gruden, as he recently resigned amid an email scandal.
With the Raiders now without their head coach and play caller, their season is now up in the air, as they just dropped a huge game against the messy Chicago Bears.
Both the Broncos and the Raiders are coming off of two straight losses and looking to rebound to stay afloat in the tight AFC West and overall playoff picture.
With now not knowing what to expect from Las Vegas, there are many factors that need attention going into this game.
Denver Broncos: 3 Things to Look for Against Raiders
1. What Will Vegas’ Offense Look Like?
In recent memory, the Raiders are a team that always plays the Broncos very closely. They typically scheme up short, quick passes and rely on their receivers to make something happen after the catch.
I would assume these same basic concepts would remain true on Sunday. The Raiders do have some speed in Henry Ruggs III, so they surely will try and burn the Broncos’ defense, but I think we’ll end up seeing more of the same.
Derek Carr gets the ball out of his hand very quickly, which helps to negate the Broncos pass rush.
Overall, it’s worked for them, so I do not see how this would be any different.
Unless the Raiders want to completely surprise us and change their offensive scheme, we should expect more of the same, boring Raiders offense.
Hopefully, the Denver Broncos secondary will be able to bounce back from their rough outing against the Steelers against a Raiders offense that does have a bit of firepower, with guys like Darren Waller and Henry Ruggs III.
2. Denver Broncos First Half Offense
In the first of last week’s game, the Denver Broncos offense looked pathetic. Whether it was because of Pat Shurmur’s playcalling, Teddy Bridgewater’s indecisiveness, or a mixture of both, the offense simply was not good enough.
The Broncos dug themselves a double-digit hole, and it wasn’t until late in the game that we saw some semblance of a competent offense.
This is especially frustrating when you consider the Broncos offense was doing the complete opposite a couple of years ago when Rich Scangarello was the offensive coordinator.
Back in 2019, the Broncos were one of the best first-half offenses but generally fell apart in the second half.
Now, it seems like it takes the entire first half before the Broncos’ offense can get rolling.
With the Raiders’ good offense, the Broncos cannot afford to not put points on the board.
Three and outs won’t cut it, and if the Broncos start to fall behind, can we really trust Teddy Bridgewater to lead the team out of a hole?
Pat Shurmur needs to call plays better, and Teddy Bridgewater needs to play better in the first half; it’s that simple.
I’m not an NFL coach, obviously, but it’s clear that there is some sort of disconnect with the Broncos’ offense in the first half.
If the Broncos want to compete for a playoff spot, they cannot keep affording to not score points in the first and second quarters.
3. Denver Broncos Overall Defensive Performance
Excuse me, but I thought the 2021 Denver Broncos defense was supposed to be good?
To be fair, they have been largely decent the entire season, but the last two weeks haven’t been great.
Allowing a 48-year-old Ben Roethlisberger to put up 27 points against you, and allowing a rookie running back to run all over you, all with a bad Steelers offensive, the line is unacceptable.
I’m not sure why the Broncos’ defense had such a poor game, but it was uncharacteristic of what we expect from this team.
Hopefully, the team can insert Ronald Darby back into the lineup, as Kyle Fuller hasn’t been good, but will that be enough?
The Broncos will be without Bradley Chubb for another month, at least, and Josey Jewell is gone for the season, as we know, but the Broncos’ defense still has loads of talent.
I would expect the defense to play a much better game at home, considering this Broncos team, in recent memory at least, has not played well during 1 PM start times.
Being that they play at 4:25 PM, which is what they’re accustomed to, they should be able to bounce back.
The secondary got burned all game, and the defensive front was exposed badly.
The Broncos cannot allow the Raiders to run the ball like the Steelers did, and the Broncos secondary has to limit the chunk plays.
The Raiders have the players to get these chunk plays, which is a bit concerning.
Denver Broncos: 5 inexcusable mistakes in loss against Steelers
The Denver Broncos not only lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but they also made some seriously inexcusable mistakes in the process.
Hopefully, after two ugly losses, the team can straighten up, but if the Broncos defense has another rough outing, I’d begin to worry about their sustainability during the rest of the season, because if the defense begins to falter, then the Broncos would turn into a bad football team.