No team the Raiders have faced this season either had a winning record when they took the field or have now. In fact, despite losing to the Chargers, Cardinals, and Titans, their games against the Raiders represent their only win of the season.
That makes the Raiders matchup with the Broncos in week three somewhat unique. At 2-1, the Broncos represent the first winning team the Raiders have faced this season. The first team they face that has beaten any other teams. And they’ve done it twice, taking down the Texans and 49ers the past two games.
Even so, the Broncos are vulnerable. Their defense has played as well as expected, but the offense has absolutely played up to the level most hoped despite the acquisition of Russell Wilson.
No doubt, Wilson has not played well, but most anyone who’s watched this team struggle can easily point to coaching where Paul Hackett has made many questionable and downright terrible decisions and yet somehow escaped with wins despite that.
Add that the Raiders will have the crowd on their side, and there’s no reason to think they can’t come out with a win.
Here’s a few things the Raiders need to make that happen.
1. Play a full game
That’s been the problem the Raiders have had through their first three games. It would be one thing if it was just a matter of the other team making halftime adjustments, but that’s not it.
In the opener, as well as last week against the Titans, the Raiders dug a hole and despite a solid second half, couldn’t dig out of it. In week two, it was the opposite problem, where they built a big lead (20-0) only to blow it and lose in overtime.
That means, technically, if they even put together three quarters of a game, they would have a good shot at coming out with the win. Admittedly that will be a tough task against the Broncos’ defense that has shut down opponents in six of the the 12 quarters they’ve played this season.
2. Get the ball to Davante Adams
The subject this week due to the fact that NFL Network’s Dan Orlovsky pointed to the fact that several times in the game against the Titans, Adams should have been the target and was not. And that was to say nothing of the two-catch performance against the Cardinals in which Adams saw just ONE TARGET in the second half collapse.
While Derek Carr said he was just implementing the game plan and doing what his head coach tells him, Josh McDaniels said the key was to read the defense, which would fall on Carr. That goes for at the line, as well as after the snap of the ball. The defense lining up in double coverage on Adams is no excuse, because often times that is not ultimately how the defense plays it.
All offseason I heard Raiders fans suggesting the the addition of Adams is bigger for the Raiders than the addition of Russell Wilson is for the Broncos. Well, Sunday is the day to prove it.
3. Chandler Jones needs to show up
For all the hype surrounding Jones joining Maxx Crosby to form an elite pass rushing duo, it has not materialized yet. Crosby has been Crosby. He’s all over the place, both as a pass rusher and as a run stopper. But Jones has been mostly ineffective and held without a sack.
Wilson can be slippery, but he will also take a lot of sacks. He’s been sacked nine times this season, which is an average of three per game. Jones will be lining up across from Garrett Bolles who has been vulnerable to the pass rush. No time like the present to get your first sack as a Raider.
4. Force turnovers
As mentioned, that Broncos defense is as tough as it gets. So, the Raiders offense could use a little help in the form of either a defensive score of good field position. Those usually come from taking the ball away.
Only one team (Washington) in the league has fewer takeaways than the two for the Raiders. Meanwhile, the offense has given the ball away five times on four interceptions and one fumble. That fumble was returned for the game-winning TD in OT versus the Cardinals. Only four teams have a worse turnover differential.
5. Run the ball
Looking over the numbers, there is only one possible weak area for that Broncos defense and it’s run defense where they allow 4.4 yards per carry. That ranks 16th in the league. Most other areas, they are in the top ten, and they are top three in both points and yards against.
Josh Jacobs has run the ball well this season, averaging 4.6 yards per carry. He’s averaged over five yards per carry in two of the first three games.
When the Raiders beat the Broncos late last season, Josh Jacobs had 129 yards on 27 carries, and the Raiders won a low scoring affair 17-13 in Las Vegas. That’s the kind of game we can probably expect Sunday as well.
The ground game success would help keep the Denver defense honest, which helps with the passing game as well.