The 2023-24 NFL season is just around the corner, as on September 7, the Kansas City Chiefs host the Detroit Lions on Thursday night to kick off the regular season. That means that the Broncos are playing their first official game of the season this upcoming weekend.
Denver will open their 2023-24 campaign by hosting their AFC West rival Las Vegas Raiders, in Empower Field at Mile High. The last time the Broncos defeated the Raiders, was in 2019, after a game-winning pass deflection by Shelby Harris in a Raiders' two-point conversion attempt. That game was played in Denver.
This time it will be a different story, as the Broncos will have their first game under Sean Payton as their head coach, and the Raiders will have their first game with their new franchise quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, after nine seasons of Derek Carr as their QB. It will also be the first regular season game with the new stadium renovations, and a game against former Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels, who had an 11-17 win-loss record in Denver.
The last time Garoppolo played in Denver, the Broncos won the game 11-10 against the 49ers, and Jimmy had 211 passing yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, and was sacked four times (the second most in the games he played last year), now he reunites with McDaniels, and will have his Raiders debut in Denver...
With that being said, here are three main keys for the Broncos to start their season with a win, by beating the Raiders ...
1. Find a way to slow/stop Josh Jacobs:
Following the franchise-tag deadline, it was reported that Raiders star running back Josh Jacobs was holding out of camp, and probably for some regular season games, if the team did not find a way to give him a contract extension or a way to trade him to a team that was willing to pay him. That was great news for the Broncos, as he was probably not playing week one against them, but a few weeks ago, he received a new deal from Las Vegas and ended his holdout, which means that he will play week one against the Broncos.
Jacobs has played in seven games against the Denver Broncos and he has destroyed them. He has 154 carries for 721 yards and 9 touchdowns against the Broncos, which is 15.21% of his career rushing yards, and 22.5% of his career rushing touchdowns. Josh has six out of nine 100+ yard games against the Broncos, one of the only three teams he has an average of 100+ rushing yards/game.
#Broncos defense believes that #Raiders RB Josh Jacobs will be fresher than most think and knows it will take all 11 of them to try and slow him down. @MileHighSports pic.twitter.com/7rrklt2iYS
— Cody Roark (@CodyRoarkNFL) September 4, 2023
With that being said, I think that one of the main, if not the main key for the Broncos to beat the Raiders is to find a way to slow/stop Jacobs because he is a very important offensive weapon for Las Vegas, especially with the loss of Pro Bowl TE Darren Waller, and with Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback.
#Broncos Sean Payton on if prepared for full dose of Josh Jacobs despite him missing most of summer holding out. "Our plan defensively is here are the key players. He is certaintly one of the more dominante running backs in the game." There was a running theme from Payton. Brief,…
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) September 4, 2023
2. Good offensive rhythm and consistency:
Despite having an offensive-minded head coach in Nathaniel Hackett last season, the Denver Broncos really struggled in this category, as they finished last in the league with 16.9 points per game. It was Hackett's first-ever season as an NFL head coach. When Hackett was fired, Denver had an average of 27.5 points per game, with interim head coach Jerry Rosburg. They had only six games of 16 or more points (two of them with Rosburg).
Once again, the Broncos really struggled offensively, they could not find a rhythm in their drives. Either due to penalties, bad play calling, or due to bad offensive line play. The Broncos offensive line allowed the most sacks in the league last season. After all the struggles, the Broncos invested a lot of money in improving their OL and traded for Super Bowl Champion head coach Sean Payton.
Sean is definitely a guy who can turn things around offensively for the Broncos, a guy who can help Russell Wilson succeed, and a very disciplined head coach who can definitely reduce penalties. In my opinion, since it is the first game of the season, the Broncos might not start with much consistency, but a key to beating Las Vegas is at least to find an offensive rhythm and not lose opportunities to score due to a flag, a sack, or a bad play call.
3. OL vs Maxx Crosby, Tyree Wilson, and CO:
As I mentioned before, the Denver Broncos offensive line struggled and had a lot of problems in the 2022-23 season. They allowed the most sacks in the league and lost 301 yards due to offensive holdings, and false start penalties.
With the new ownership group and coaching staff, the Broncos went all in to improve their offensive line, by signing Ben Powers and Mike McGlinchey to four and five-year deals respectively. They also re-signed Cam Fleming, drafted Oregon center Alex Forsyth, and signed Illinois standout tackle Alex Palczewski as an undrafted free agent.
Just for you to get an idea, Raiders defensive star Maxx Crosby, against the Broncos last season, had 10 tackles (6 for loss), 5 QB hits, 4 sacks, and 1 forced fumble. Las Vegas needed help at the position and drafted Tyree Wilson, who had 17 sacks in 35 career college games (0.49/game).
Yes, Las Vegas does not have a great defense, but their pass rush is their strongest defensive position group, and if the Broncos want to win their opening game, they must protect Russell Wilson, and be disciplined to not have much penalties.
My score prediction: Raiders 17 - 31 Broncos
The Broncos have lost six straight games against the Raiders ... will that change on Sunday? Can the Broncos start the Sean Payton era with a division win?