TEN AND TWO, BABY!! This Broncos team has won nine games in a row, and there’s no reason it shouldn’t win a tenth. But it is the Raiders, a division rivalry, and as our new UFGer, Broncs Cheer, points
out…those games are their own animal. But as he also points out, the Raiders are a hot mess (yay!) and this should not be a hard game for Denver.
If you’ve been a fan long enough, however, you know that Denver doesn’t really do easy games. Quick side note, I was at last week’s game in D.C. and man, I haven’t been at such an exciting game in a long time. And while those kind of games give me a heart attack, I absolutely choose a comeback win every day and twice on Sundays as the best kind of game — even if it shouldn’t be close!
But I digress…we’re on to the second game against the Raiders and Broncs Cheer has given us another huge victory with his analysis.
Go Broncos!
Week 14: Broncos at Raiders
MHR – The win over the Commanders was…amazing and aggravating. What were your thoughts?
Broncs Cheer: I was more encouraged than discouraged. I’m the kind of fan who rarely expects a blowout. I’ve seen enough surprise performances out of “bad” teams that I more or less buy into the “any given Sunday” cliché. And I think the Commanders came off their bye ready to play. Quinn and Kingsbury had good plans and it was the kind of game that a lot of teams in Denver’s position, even good teams, would have lost. The defense was due for a hiccup game, and while Bo and the offense had an uneven day—which we’re very much used to—Bo, in particular showed some of that sweet, sweet clutchiness that we’re also starting to expect from him.
MHR – The last matchup with the Raiders was a frustrating 10-7 win. Do you anticipate another dogfight or has this Broncos team figured out a few things since then? Or does that even matter in an AFC rivalry game?
Broncs Cheer: Yeah division games are kind of their own animal, but having just said that I rarely expect an easy game, I’m tempted to make this one of the exceptions that proves the rule. The Raiders have done nothing but lose since these teams last played, and they seem like a hot mess. I tend to think that last week’s scare will have a positive impact on the Broncos’ performance. Let’s just say I don’t expect Bo to set a new all-time record this week for fourth-quarter comebacks in a QB’s first two seasons. He’ll have to wait at least a week…
MHR – In the Week 10 matchup I asked about the coaching stability that is finally at the helm of the Raiders franchise. And then Chip Kelly gets fired two weeks ago and reports are that Pete Carroll and the GM are not getting along. Could the Broncos spur a complete meltdown in Vegas with the game on Sunday?
Broncs Cheer: Boy, how sweet would that be. It does seem like Pete looks a little older and lame-duckier every week. A blowout loss at home to one of their most hated rivals might just generate a little tasty chaos over there.
MHR – The Broncos defense against the Commanders looked sluggish to start before stepping up bigtime in the second half while the offense sputtered. Could this be a game where both offense and defense can sharpen their tools in the tool shed to get ready for the gauntlet that will be the final four games? Will you be concerned if they don’t?
Broncs Cheer: It’s unfair because it’s the offense where we need to see the most improvement, but in all honesty, I think I’ll be more disappointed if the defense doesn’t look sharp than if the offense doesn’t. I expect more from the defense. If Denver goes deep in the playoffs, it’ll be on the backs of the defense. And Bo and the offense have shown they can beat good teams without putting up elite numbers. That said, I’d love to see progress from the offense. Gimme some rhythm! I’d like to see Payton trusting Bo a little more to work at a faster tempo without worrying too much that he’s going to wear out the defense with quick three-and-outs.
MHR – Given the above question, what are the chances of the Broncos looking past the Raiders too much and having a down game?
Broncs Cheer: I’m going to say slim to none. In my heart of hearts, I hope the Broncos never look past the Raiders. And I have a lot of faith in this team’s ability to take the games as they come and focus on the task at hand. This is an important game for tiebreaking purposes (pretty sure a win clinches the common-opponent tiebreaker over the Pats), and I’m guessing Sean will be reminding them of that.
MHR – The Broncos offense is getting nicknamed the Cardiac Kids. What are your thoughts overall about the offense constantly having to come back in the fourth quarter but also its ability TO come back in the fourth quarters?
Broncs Cheer: I’ve been a defender of Payton’s play calling, despite getting yelled at by my 90-year-old mother who’s convinced that’s what holding the offense back. And she’s not totally wrong – when the offense is bad, it just seems like Bo and Sean are out of sync. Nix is still growing as a QB, and the offense is kind of growing alongside him.
I think most of the offense’s problems (other than legitimately needing a better big RB) are a function of Bo’s development. His timing seems just a little off. He can string together 3-4 good plays in a row, but I’m still waiting for an overall consistent game against a good defense.
I do think Bo’s got top-shelf intangibles – bad plays don’t stick in his head, he’s a good leader, and he’s at his best in the clutch. That’s stuff you can’t teach.
And call me a Payton apologist, but I just have this hunch that Sean is still playing some kind of long game with Bo, trying to bring him along at a controlled rate to build his confidence the right way. I think he’s got strong ideas about how to do that. And maybe he sticks to those ideas a little too stubbornly at times, but at least for now it’s hard to argue with the results. I’m just hoping that Sean is like some kind of mad genius electrician, getting all the circuits primed and all the wiring run just right so that when the lightbulb comes on for Bo, it shines bright.
There’s no question it can be frustrating as fans to see an offense that is intermittently out of sync, but I’m hoping Bo’s on schedule to put up better performances—and hopefully have a major breakthrough with this offense in the last stretch of the season.
MHR – RJ Harvey had two big touchdowns on Sunday night but the running game still seemed weak overall. Are you concerned about it this week as well as going forward or do you think the running backs are raring into form in time?
Broncs Cheer: I’m a little worried. And I don’t really get it. Our OL should be a good blocking line, but we lack that strong-running back who can run through contact. I’m skeptical that we’ll ever have the capability to be a run-first offense, and after what the Chargers did on the ground last week (Kimani Vidal?? Jaret Patterson??), if Denver can’t punch out some rushing yards this week, I’ll be even more skeptical. I do think we miss Nate Adkins more than people may realize. As far as I can tell he’s still our best blocking tight end.
MHR- FINALLY we saw Evan Engram have a big night. And Sean Payton responded to questions about it as if it has just depended on what the defenses have given them to dictate how to use Engram. Do you anticipate a growing role for him after last week?
Broncs Cheer: I’d love to see Bo and Engram get it going. He’s just what this passing offense needs, and he and Bo have seemed just a little out of sync most of the year.
MHR – I continue to want to see more Courtland Sutton because he is so clutch. But is that realistic when defenses are going to key in on him? With some bigger success for Franklin and Bryant lately, how can this WR room be a big threat to opponents?
Broncs Cheer: Court is still the Broncos best chain mover, but Engram and Bryant are making bids to share more of that load—making the big catch when the team needs one. What I’d really like to see is a big game from little #19! With a couple games under his belt now since his injury, it’s time for Mims to rejoin the offense. My hot take this week is that Mims will lead the team in both receiving and rushing yards—courtesy of a couple deep balls and a jet sweep and/or lateral swing pass.
MHR – Brock Bowers remains a dangerous tight end, but the Broncos limited him to 31 yards last matchup. And Ashton Jeanty racked up a decent 60 yards last time. Will these offensive threats be able to do so again? With Jahdae Barron getting more comfortable in the defense and Dre Greenlaw back in the lineup, will Denver have the upper hand on these two potential game-changers?
Broncs Cheer: Having PS2 back will help with Bowers. It’ll be interesting to see how much they’re matched up after Surtain handled him so well last year, because of the strides the rest of the defense has made at handling tight ends. I still love Jeanty as a back, but he’s gotten shafted running behind that OL. With DJ Jones out, I’d bet he could have as much or more success as last time, but I’d be surprised to see him be a big factor in the game. I’ll be curious to see who gets DJ’s snaps, and I kind of have a feeling Greenlaw is going to make his presence felt this week.
MHR – The defense came up HUGE when it needed to against the Commanders, particularly the play from Nik Bonitto. But there were also interceptions from Greenlaw and Brandon Jones (which was called back due to DPI) and some big PBUs from Riley Moss and Alex Singleton. What is your favorite part about this defense? What do you expect from them on Sunday?
Broncs Cheer: I’m a huge Zach Allen fan. I don’t think he gets enough credit for the yeoman’s work he does every week. Saw a stat today that he leads the league in QB hits, ahead of presumptive DPOY Miles Garrett. I expect him to make some noise this week. I’m also a Riley Moss defender. I appreciate the way he owned up to his “handsiness” (which is real) and set out to fix the problem. And Jahdae seems like he’s coming along nicely. Would love to see a pick from one of those two guys this week. With KAD and McMillian, we have five legitimately talented CBs, which is a huge luxury.
MHR -Sean Payton noted that his motivation to win comes from hating to lose so much. And Bo Nix said he probably loved winning so much that it made him hate to lose. For a philosophical end to this Q&A, what do you think is the proper motivation for the Broncos trying to win out, trying to win the AFC West and ultimately the No. 1 seed and beyond – fear of losing or love of winning?
Broncs Cheer: Philosophically speaking I’m love over fear all day long, but aren’t they really two sides of one coin? And I think that Sean is being just a little specious, or at least he does appreciate the value of both. He rocks the party music in the locker room at Club Dub after each win. He wants his team to love to win AND hate to lose. What has impressed me about this team though is the quality of their belief—in each other and in their ability to do what they need to do as a team to win. I think Payton and Paton have done a masterful job of cultivating that culture as well.
Predictions
Stats for Bo Nix? 26-40 295 yds. 3TD, 1INT
Stats for each Broncos RB? Harvey 14-60, Jaleel 7-31, Mims 4-82 1 td
Number of yards receiving/TDs for the receivers? Sutton 4-49 1TD, Engram 6-50, Franklin 2-29, Bryant 5-45, Mims 3-78 1TD, Harvey with a receiving TD
Longest FG for Lutz? 51
Number of sacks to Geno Smith? 5
Broncos player with the most tackles? Singleton
Who gets the first sack of the game for the Broncos? Zach Allen
How many INTs/FF/FR for the Raiders D? 1INT
How many INTs/FF/FR for the Broncos’ D? 2INT /2FF /1FR
Final Score? 34-13, Broncos
The Favorites
Favorite John Elway win outside of the Super Bowls? Hard not to say The Drive, but during the Broncos march to the SB in 1989/90 there was an underrated great playoff against the Steelers where Elway led a game-winning drive in the 4th quarter after trailing virtually the entire game.
Favorite Broncos win ever? Unquestionably SB32. Tears of joy….
Favorite Peyton Manning win? SB50
Favorite win over the Raiders? AFCCG New Year’s Day 1978. I was in the stands at the old Mile High. The hated Silver & Black were 4-point favorites. Craig Morton had a bum hip and had been in the hospital for a couple days earlier in the week. Haven Moses ran wild in the Oakland secondary. The goalposts came down and the Broncos were off to their first Super Bowl. And yeah, Rob Lytle did fumble….
Least favorite loss to the Raiders? A Monday night game at Mile High in September of 1988. The Broncos had a 24-0 lead at the half, and the party was rolling! But by the mid 4th quarter, they’d given up the lead—thanks in part to four John Elway interceptions. After Rich Karlis, the barefoot one, gave Denver a FG lead with 3 minutes left, the Broncos and their fans saw Raiders’ kicker Chris Bahr (half of one of four placekicking brother duos in NFL history—bonus props to anyone who can name the other three*) kick his own FG to tie the game at the final whistle and one more to win it for the Raiders in OT, 30-27. The hangover started early…
Most interesting Raiders game attended? I’ve only been to two Broncos road games in my life—one being the excellently memorable game against the Browns at “the Mistake by the Lake” in the fall of 1980, where Randy Gradishar scooped a ball off a fallen Tom Jackson’s chest and ran it back 93 yards for a TD.
The other was memorable for a different reason — against the Raiders at Oakland Coliseum in December of 2007. Through a work/board connection, a friend of mine got hold of two tickets belonging to George Zimmer of Men’s Wearhouse fame (oh, you know you remember those commercials… “I guarantee it”), who, it turns out was, and probably still is, a VIP Raider fan and co-owner of a luxury suite. We got there early and there were only 2 people in the suite, who introduced themselves as Dave and Susan Casper (!)—the HOF tight end looking much smaller than I remembered him with pads on. He was amused at the presence of two Bronco fans in their suite and made a point of good-naturedly mocking us as a steady stream of former NFL players passed through the suite during the game. I told him I had been at the AFCCG in 1977 (where he scored both TDs for the Raiders) and it seemed like he still had a piece of that game stuck in his craw. Something about a missed PI call in addition to Lytle’s uncalled fumble. “I hated playing at Mile High,” he growled.
We were gracious guests and let the hosts win, 34-20 over Jay Cutler’s Broncos, breaking a 5-game winning streak against the Raiders….
Team you love to beat the most in the AFC West? Still and always, the Raiders
Coach you laugh at the most in the NFL? Nate Hackett (*editor’s note: FANTASTIC answer!)
Coach you most want to throat-punch? Josh McDaniels
Team you hate to lose to the most in the rest of the AFC? Pats
NFC team you could cheer for in the Super Bowl? Lions or Rams
NFC team you want to face more than any other in the Super Bowl? Seahawks
Favorite game so far this season? Beating the Chiefs
Favorite Broncos player on the current roster? Courtland Sutton
Favorite Broncos player of all time not named John Elway? Randy Gradishar
Favorite new guy/rookie on the team? Pat Bryant
Food/Snack you have to eat on game day? Popcorn
Favorite game analyst/commentator? I actually like Cris Collinsworth (sue me); Madden back in the day
Who is on your Broncos’ Mount Rushmore? Elway, Gradishar, TD, Rod Smith
*Trivia answer: Besides Chris and Matt Bahr….Pete and Charlie Gogolak, Bill and Martin Gramatica, Anders and Daniel Carlson.
How did you become a Broncos fan?
The Orange Crush days branded me, and all those Super Bowl losses in the 80s made sure the branding went more than skin deep. I moved away from Denver nearly 40 years ago but have been and will be a Broncos fan for life.
