Raiders-Broncos Week 5: This is a big game

Raiders have a chance to push above .500

The NFL is basically entering the second quarter of the season and October football is arriving.

We don’t know a lot about the Las Vegas Raiders yet.

They are 2-2, but that really doesn’t tell the story. Their two wins were nail biters that could have gone either way and their two defeats were pretty complete beatings.

They’re banged up. They’re defense, expected to be their strong suit, has been up and down and the offense had not found an identity yet.

Still, they are very much in the thick of the early playoff chase in the AFC in what can only be described as a strange first quarter of the NFL season. They are one of 10 teams in the conference that are 2-2 or better. However, all four of the AFC West teams fall into that group.

That’s one of the reasons their Week 5 game at division rival, the Denver Broncos on Sunday (1:05 p.m. PT kickoff) is a pivotal game.

The Raiders have a chance to move above .500 for the first time this season and win at the Broncos could help erase the team of the Week 3 home blowout loss to the Carolina Panthers. The Raiders schedule is getting tougher after this game, so the Raiders have an opportunity to get to the next stretch at 3-2.

Plus, it’s a very winnable game even though Denver is a slight betting favorite at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Still, Denver will be a confident bunch Sunday as they are coming off two straight road victories. Denver has allowed just 29 points total in the past three games with 13 being the highest amount an opponent has scored in the stretch.

But the Raiders will be confident as well. They have beaten the Broncos in eight straight games dating back to the 2020 season. In fact, the Broncos have never beaten the Las Vegas Raiders. The last time Denver has beaten the Raiders was in the final game of the 2019 season in Denver and it was the last game of the Oakland Raiders.

If the Raiders can extend their streak to nine straight over their Rocky Mountain rivals, it will set them up nicely moving forward. A Las Vegas loss, though, would drop them to 2-3 and extend questions about the direction of this team as the meat of the schedule looms.

Thus, this is a big one.