Broncos' Blueprint to Beating the Raiders: Two Areas to Dominate

The Denver Broncos have a lot on the line this week. The Las Vegas Raiders are coming to town on an eight-game winning streak, Denver's most hated divisional rival. The Raiders have won nine of the last 10 over Denver.

The Broncos need to end this streak, especially since it's against a team playing as poorly as the Raiders. The Broncos offense hasn’t been playing great, but the defense has been exceptional, and it should be able to force the Raiders offense into errors to help out. 

The Broncos should have two key points of emphasis on Sunday. Let's examine the top priorities against the beleaguered Raiders.

Pressure, Pressure, Pressure

How do the Broncos create problems for Vegas? By applying pressure on the Raiders offensive line and quarterback Gardner Minshew.

The Raiders O-line will be without two starters: right tackle Thayer Munford, who's been ruled out, and right guard Donald Parham, who's questionable. Left tackle Kolton Miller has also been hurt and all three did not participate in the Raiders' Wednesday practice. Munford has missed time already, while Miller and Parham have played and started all four games. 

The Raiders offensive line has been one of the worst units in pass protection this season, allowing the 11th-most pressures and seventh-most sacks. Vegas' allowed pressure percentage ranks 12th in the NFL, and it is facing a Broncos defense that has been exceptional at getting pressure. The Broncos have the sixth-highest quarterback pressure rate, the third-most pressures, and the second-most sacks while leading in sack percentage.

The time to pressure will be vital in this game against the Raiders offensive line and Minshew. The Broncos get pressure in 2.54 seconds, while opposing quarterbacks have an average of 2.6 seconds to throw. Meanwhile, Minshew has averaged 2.7 seconds to throw with the Raiders line providing an average of 2.89 seconds before pressure, which is the third-longest amount of time in the NFL.

The Broncos are the most aggressive defense in the NFL with Vance Joseph at the helm, leading the NFL in blitz rate at 46.3% — the second-highest is 40.8%. Denver's pass rushers fire off the snap, with the fifth-fastest snap get-off average.

And the Broncos can afford to be this aggressive with how well their secondary has been playing, allowing the 11th-lowest average of separation to receivers. So, the Broncos need to emphasize getting pressure, as Minshew is one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL when under pressure. 

Get the Passing Game Going

The Broncos will need their offense to do its part, and the point of emphasis here should be for the passing game to lift off. While the Raiders' passing defense hasn’t been terrible, it's inconsistent and in the middle.

The Raiders rank 16th in pass yards allowed per game, 11th-worst passing EPA allowed, eighth-lowest sack percentage, and 16th in pressure percentage. It's unclear whether Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby will play in this one, but this is a good time for the Broncos to start getting their passing offense together.  

Raiders cornerback Jakorian Bennett has been having a good season, while Jack Jones has been inconsistent. When watching the Raiders, and Jones specifically, he doesn’t give the best effort, especially when it comes to being physical. The Broncos should target that flaw with plays designed to pick up yards after the catch or force Jones to attack the catch point. 

Even Nate Hobbs, who is widely viewed as Vegas' best corner, has had his issues in coverage, especially when he's caught working on the boundary. The Broncos can attack the secondary in multiple ways, and much of what they did against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should work against this Raiders' coverage unit. 

The Broncos' offensive focus is on getting the passing game going, as it can have a domino effect for the rest of the season. The Broncos have a slight break in the caliber of defenses they're facing over the next stretch of games.

The timing of Denver's passing game has been inconsistent. While the team can work on that in practice, it still isn’t quite the same as figuring it out in a game. The Broncos have shown flashes of having the timing down, but now is the time to focus on perfecting it. 

That doesn’t mean throwing 50 times and hardly running the ball. Keep it about 50/50 with the run/pass split, as the Broncos' run game should be effective against the Raiders.

If the Broncos can’t get the passing game going, they can fall back on the run. They need to use this game to figure out their passing game before their schedule gets tricky again.