3 bold predictions for Broncos in Week 5 matchup against Raiders

The Denver Broncos are facing off against their division rival Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5 with a chance to get their third straight win and their third win overall in the 2024 season. It's a pivotal matchup for a wide variety of reasons, but the Broncos have not beaten the Raiders since 2019 and Vegas has had their number.

So what needs to happen for the Broncos to get their third win of this young 2024 season and get their first winning record of the year? How can Bo Nix become the first rookie quarterback in franchise history to win three straight games?

Let's make some bold predictions with a heavy emphasis on the orange and blue...

3 bold predictions for the Denver Broncos in Week 5

1. Defense picks off three passes

The Denver Broncos have one of the best pass rushes in the entire NFL. They are getting to the quarterback at an astronomically high rate to start the season, and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has helped create a lot of favorable situations for his defensive backs.

At some point, they're going to start turning all of those pressures and quarterback hits into interceptions on the back end. Why not this weekend against the Raiders? Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew has thrown an interception in every game but one (last week vs. CLE) this season and if the Broncos force him to throw the ball a lot in this game, it's not out of the realm of possibility to force a handful of turnovers.

You could go conservative here and just say two interceptions, but these are bold predictions, after all

2. Bo Nix throws two touchdown passes

Well, it's a little crazy that this is actually a bold prediction at this point, but throwing touchdowns has been difficult for the Broncos to do this year. Gone are the days of Peyton Manning averaging four touchdown passes per game. We're just hoping for the first multi-touchdown game of Bo Nix's NFL career thus far.

Nix threw his first NFL touchdown pass last weekend against the New York Jets, a little toss to Courtland Sutton to close out a nice drive overall for the Broncos. This weekend against the Raiders, he has a chance to build on that.

We saw Nix take some strides against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a passer but the Broncos punched in their touchdowns against the Bucs on the ground. If Nix can build on what he showed as a passer in that game against the Bucs

3. Marvin Mims & Troy Franklin each have at least one 30+ yard play

Well, you know this is a bold prediction because Marvin Mims and Troy Franklin have been virtually non-existent so far this season when it comes to making big plays. As a matter of fact, at this stage of the season, Franklin and Mims have a combined six receptions for 28 total yards on just 14 targets. It's not been good for either of these players so far at all.

The Broncos have actually done a little bit more for Troy Franklin lately in terms of scheming some touches, but to no avail.

These guys are the two most explosive vertical threats the Broncos have in the offense. It's time for the Broncos to actually dial up some plays for these guys and figure out a way to hit them.