Broncos vs. Raiders: Every time the rivals have kicked off a season against each other
The Denver Broncos will kick off the 2023 NFL season against their No.1 rival, the Las Vegas Raiders.
Is there any better way for a season to open if you're a Broncos fan? Not only will they be playing against the Raiders, but it will be a home game. A win there gets the season off to about the best start that it could be.
This will mark the ninth time that these two teams have opened the season against each other, dating back to 1960 when the Broncos were born. The Raiders have won the last two of those games but the Broncos will be hoping to buck that trend next Sunday.
Here, we are going to take a look back at every one of these season-opening Broncos vs. Raiders battles, look at the stars of those games as well some of the things that went down in just a small part of this bitter rivalry.
Perhaps this will jog some good (or bad) memories and more than that, it may make you even more excited for the Broncos to kick their season off against the silver and black.
Broncos vs. Raiders: September 3, 1978
Coming off of their epic clash in the 1977 AFC Championship Game, the Broncos were looking to make a huge statement by beating John Madden's Raiders again.
It was a low-scoring game that hung in the balance late, but the Broncos were able to hold on after a 1-yard touchdown run by Otis Armstrong in the fourth quarter gave the Broncos a good cushion.
The Broncos had less than 200 yards of total offense but two interceptions of Raiders' quarterback Ken Stabler were key in the victory.
Final Score: Broncos 14, Raiders 6
September 6, 1981
Three years later, this was a pretty similar season opener between the two teams.
The Raiders scored a touchdown early but the Broncos were able to run the ball and play tough defense to grind out a win.
The Raiders threw two interceptions, this time it was Jim Plunkett turning the ball over, and the Broncos gained 176 yards on the ground. There was no scoring after halftime, but the Broncos were able to be the team that did just a bit more to win it.
Final Score: Broncos 9, Raiders 7
September 7, 1986
Whatever took place in those first two season openers between these two teams, the 1986 opener was everything but that.
The two games prior to this one that are listed had a combined 36 points scored in them. This game saw 74 points put up on the scoreboard.
The Broncos seemed to be playing catch-up all day long until Gene Lang ran in a 7-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter to put Denver up for good.
John Elway threw two touchdown passes and also caught one, a 23-yard reception on a pass thrown by Steve Sewell, to pace the Broncos to victory.
Final Score: Broncos 38, Raiders 36