The Denver Broncos sport the best pass rush in the NFL, and the unit could be in store for yet another huge game in Week 12. The Raiders have allowed 33 sacks in the 2024 NFL Season, which is tied for the fifth-most in the NFL. Vegas has had to trot out three different QBs this season: Gardner Minshew II, Aidan O'Connell, and Desmond Ridder.
Collectively, they have thrown 11 touchdowns against 11 interceptions for a 81.6 passer rating. Their QB room is just bad, and it was bad coming into the season. In my opinion, the Raiders were hoping that Michael Penix Jr fell into their laps in the 2024 NFL Draft, as the Atlanta Falcons taking him at pick eight was a huge shock, so the Raiders were probably expecting Penix.
The Denver Broncos pass rush could be in line for a massive day
Anyway. the Broncos pass rush is flat-out insane. It's so insane that the team actually leads the NFL in sacks with 39. That puts them on pace for 60 sacks on the season, and they average over three per game. Denver has six players with at least six sacks, and 12 players with at least one sack, so this unit is deep.
Being that this is an away game for the Broncos, they are going to need to hit Minshew and actually take him down. Minshew does excel at times at avoiding sacks and spinning out of pressure, so in this hostile environment, it's imperative that they take him down early and often.
After their brutal Week 10 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs, the team rebounded in a big way against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 11, blowing them out by 32 points and sacking Kirk Cousins four times. And for what it is worth, the Falcons OL is solid.
The Raiders, not so much.
The formula is clear. Vegas cannot run the ball consistently, so if Denver can stop their run, which should not be a challenge, and if they can gain an early lead, it will force the Raiders offense to abandon the run a bit and commit to the pass to get back into the game. Well, the Broncos pass rush could hopefull tee off in that even.
Nik Bonitto is actually one sack away from 10 on the season, so we'll look out to see if the third-year player can hit that double-digit sack mark, but the data does show that the Denver Broncos pass rush is in line for another huge game.