Denver Broncos vs. Buffalo Bills

It’s rivalry week in the Mile High City and the 2-1 Denver Broncos need to bounce back in a big way. The Broncos will host the Oakland Raiders on Sunday in a divisional battle.

Denver Broncos vs. Oakland Raiders

I love a good a rivalry and I’m not just talking about the Denver Broncos. This week I will be going head to head against our Raiders Fangirl Ivana, and I’m out for bragging rights.

On the football side of things, both teams come into week four a little bruises with the Broncos losing to the Bills 26-16 & the Raiders falling to the Redskins 27-1. Both teams will be playing with a chip on their shoulder and with a rivalry vengeance.

Let’s take a look at the matchup:

• The Broncos should have had an easy win against a weak Bills team, but came home from their first road trip with a loss.

• Trevor Siemian’s two INTs, unnecessary penalties, and a defensive breakdown left the Broncos on the wrong side of the scoreboard.

• There are a few improvements the Broncos need to make in preparation for the Raiders, starting with Trevor Siemian. He must be better under pressure; he’s been successful so far because he’s been able to stay in the pocket. The Bills defense forced him to pass on the run and you saw how that turned out.

• CJ Anderson has to be present in the running game because Jamaal Charles is not a successful power running back. Be smarter.

• The Von Miller unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the fourth, which was questionable to begin with, and the botched fake punt in the 3rd quarter, created momentum shifts in the Bills’ favor.

• And I’m sure you knew this was coming, the Broncos secondary needs to be better, especially going against a proficient pocket passing quarterback in Derek Carr.

• Which brings me to the Raiders–obviously Derek Carr is a good quarterback (75% pass completion rate), but pair him with offensive weapons like Michael Crabtree, Amari Cooper, and Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch and you’ve got an offensive threat. And you can’t forget about defensive end Khalil Mack, who is similar to Von Miller in being an integral part to the defense.

Game Prediction

Broncos 27- Raiders 24. I foresee the Broncos pulling out a close one because the Raiders don’t have the most dominant defense, but they do have Carr.

[NFL-Broncos-footer]

Photo Credits:

• Denver Bronco Logo on Wikimedia by Denver Broncos
• Oakland Raiders on Wikimedia Commons by Oakland Raiders
• Sports Authority Field at Mile High on wikipedia by Thelastcanadian
• Buffalo Bills blue on Wikimedia Commons by Moe Epsilon
• Redskins on Wikimedia by sportslogos.net
• Trevor Siemian on flickr by Jeffrey Beall
• Von Miller on flickr by Jeffrey Beall
• Derek Carr on wikimedia commons by Erik Drost
• Amari Cooper on wikimedia commons by Erik Drost
• Khalil Mack on wikimedia commons by Jeffrey Beall