Based on last week’s results, the Broncos and Raiders appear to be heading in different directions. Oakland got a road win at Kansas City, its first AFC West win since 2004. Denver blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead against the Bears.
But the Broncos have played very well against the Raiders since 1995, when Mike Shanahan became head coach, and are the better team on paper. The best reason to believe the Raiders will win is they should have beat Denver in the second week of the season. That was the game in which Shanahan called a timeout at the last moment as Sebastian Janikowski hit what Oakland thought was a game-winning field goal in overtime. Then Janikowski missed the second attempt and Denver ended up winning.
Based on that near-miss, the Raiders probably feel good about their chances of winning the rematch at home. But the Broncos have treated Oakland like their own home stadium, and have enough left for one more win there.
Broncos 20, Raiders 17
But the Broncos have played very well against the Raiders since 1995, when Mike Shanahan became head coach, and are the better team on paper. The best reason to believe the Raiders will win is they should have beat Denver in the second week of the season. That was the game in which Shanahan called a timeout at the last moment as Sebastian Janikowski hit what Oakland thought was a game-winning field goal in overtime. Then Janikowski missed the second attempt and Denver ended up winning.
Based on that near-miss, the Raiders probably feel good about their chances of winning the rematch at home. But the Broncos have treated Oakland like their own home stadium, and have enough left for one more win there.
Broncos 20, Raiders 17
No comments:
Post a Comment