Early Raiders @ Broncos Preview: Oakland Huge Underdogs

Week 3 of Monday Night Football is going to be a game between division rivals the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders.  This will be the Broncos’ first division game of the season.

The Broncos have looked great thus.  They are 2-0 and have easily disposed of two Super Bowl favorites (previous to their losses) in the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Giants.

The Broncos offense is on fire.  They lead the NFL in net points with 40 and in touchdowns with 12.  The Broncos have struggled to find a run game, but Peyton Manning and his offense appear to be better than ever.  However, there is still one big question mark on Denver’s O-line.

Ryan Clady will miss the rest of the season due to injury.  He is the best players on the Broncos’ offensive line.  He will be replaced by career backup Chris Clark who will have some big shoes to fill.

Their opponents this Monday are not given much of a chance to beat the Broncos in the sportsbooks, but at 1-1 the Raiders have surprised a lot of people this year.

Oakland’s offense is not as flashy as the pistol, run and gun offense of the Seattle Seahawks or San Francisco 49ers, but it is still a game based primarily on the run and it is working.

They are the No. 1 rushing team in the NFL.  The Raiders have both running back Darren McFadden and a scrambling quarterback in Terrelle Pryor, so do not write this game off as a warm up game for the Broncos Week 4 opponents (Philadelphia Eagles) just yet.  The Raiders have the offensive tools to upset the Broncos, especially considering the Broncos will be without Clady, which will also give the Oakland defense an opening to attack.

Oakland’s pass game is simple.  Pryor looks for easy throws out of the shotgun.  The Bronco’s defense will likely pick up on this early leaving the Raiders to try and ware down the Bronco’s defense via their run game.

As previously stated, the sportsbooks are not giving the Raiders much of a chance in this one.  The early point spread at Bovada has the Raiders at a +15.  The game will be featured on Monday Night Football on ESPN at 8:40 p.m. ET.