Once again, the Denver Broncos’ defense reigned supreme as it handily shut down the prolific San Digeo Chargers offense on Sunday, 27-19.
Denver put a ton of pressure on Philip Rivers all afternoon, sacking the San Diego quarterback seven times and picking him off thrice. The Broncos were already playing without top cornerback Aqib Talib (back), but got a solid return out of Bradley Roby in Talib’s place. Roby nabbed the first interception of the game and returned it 49 yards for a score, setting the tone for the imposing D the rest of the way.
In spite of the Broncos’ defensive prowess, though, the offense relatively sputtered against a middling Chargers defense. Trevor Siemian was picked off once and completed just 20 of his 38 passes for 276 yards and no TDs while limiting the standout receiving duo of Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders to just nine catches for 147 yards on a combined 20 targets.
The running game, which is set to miss lead back C.J. Anderson (knee) for an extended amount of time, didn’t get much help from backup Devontae Booker, either. Booker needed 19 touches for his 54 rushing yards and touchdown for a disappointing average of 2.8 yards per carry. With Oakland giving up 125 rushing yards to its opponents this season, the rookie out of Utah who fought off a shoulder injury in Sunday’s game, must now not just heal quickly but also top his debut start against the leaky Raiders front seven.
And even though the Broncos have won eight of their last nine meetings against the Raiders (7-2 ATS), their only loss in that stretch came last season with signs of Oakland Derek Carr emerging as a top-tier QB already. But now Carr appears to be a supernova of a quarterback, which leads us to…
Bah gawd, the Silver and Black are for real this season.
The Oakland Raiders escaped with a 30-24 overtime victory over the Buccaneers on Sunday under a smoldering-hot afternoon in Tampa Bay. They are now a perfect 5-0 on the road for the season after going 4-4 in their previous campaign and a dismal 0-8 the season prior.
Derek Carr put up Madden-like numbers by going 40-of-59 for a whopping 513 passing yards – a new career and franchise record – with four touchdowns and not a single pick. He connected with four different receivers on those scoring plays, which includes 11-year offensive tackle Donald Penn (who hauled in his fourth-career TD!). Oakland’s own one-two punch of wideouts in Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree combined for 281 receiving yards with Cooper the one finding the end zone.
Carr, now a strong candidate for the MVP award, has 17 touchdowns to just three interceptions this season. He’s gotten plenty of time to throw the ball efficiently and dangerously thanks to his offensive line, which has allowed a league-low nine sacks through eight games. With a vicious Denver pass-rush on the horizon, this unit needs to prove its mettle once more.
What made the win over the Bucs all the more impressive was that Oakland committed an NFL record 23 penalties for 200 yards! If not for the Fresno State product’s magnificent outing, the Raiders might’ve been toast under the searing Floridian sun that afternoon. Carr will need to be at his very best and make up for most of his team’s bone-headedness and leaky defense against the Broncos indeed.
At least Oakland’s D, which is giving up a staggering 410 yards and 25.4 points per game, will see a Denver attack that’s been quite mediocre of late and playing without its top running back. The Raiders’ ineptitude on defense is actually a blessing in disguise for us bettors, as the total has gone over in six of their last eight games. So even if the Broncos somehow come to life on offense, at least we can be rest assured that another nail-biting barnburner has its rewards this Sunday night in Week 9.
Writer’s Prediction
The Raiders (-1) dissect the stout Broncos’ D well enough for a 29-23 win to claim sole possession of the lead in the crowded AFC West.
