Raiders-Broncos Clash Finally Means Something Again

DENVER (The Sports Xchange) - The last time Denver and Oakland played in the second half of a season with both teams over .500, the Raiders were headed for Super Bowl XXXVII and the Broncos were only in their second season at what is now known as Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

Nearly 14 years have passed since that Week 16 game in 2002, a game that turned out to be Brian Griese's final start in a five-season Broncos career. He struggled early, the Broncos fell behind 21-3, and eventually rallied before falling 28-16 to give the Raiders their third consecutive AFC West crown.

Oakland hasn't had as much as a winning season since then. But that seems destined to change in Jack Del Rio's second season as head coach. Although the Raiders have been plagued by penalties -- including a league-record 23 accepted infractions last week at Tampa Bay -- they have also shown the same capacity for winning close games that the Broncos did last year en route to their Super Bowl 50 win.

"Raiders Week" used to mean something special in Denver. It has been dormant for a while. It appears to be back now.

The impact of Del Rio, the Broncos' defensive coordinator from 2012-14, is a significant factor in elevating the Raiders' standing and giving them the resilience to mount comebacks -- including his team's rally from a 12-0 halftime deficit at Denver last December.

"I think he boosted it a lot," said cornerback Chris Harris Jr. "He gave Oakland confidence. Jack has really changed that team and changed their mindset and you can tell by the way they play and the way their quarterback plays.

"You just have to tip your cap to the way Jack Del Rio has really coached that team."

And the Broncos know that Derek Carr is not the same quarterback they've faced the last two years. Harris' pick-six off Carr in their Week 5 game at Oakland in 2015 was set up by an all-out rush that flustered Carr and forced him into an errant throw. But Carr rarely makes those kinds of mistakes now; he has just three interceptions in 2016 despite leading the league in attempts.

"The thing with Derek, I think he's throwing it more than anybody in football and he's turned it over less than anybody in football. That tells you the growth of him," Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said. "That's what this league is about. Can you be aggressive? Can you go out there and throw it around? Can you keep us in games and not turn the ball over? That's what he's doing."

The Raiders have been building to a moment like this since 2014, when they drafted Khalil Mack in the first round and Carr a year later. Their 15-12 win at Denver in Week 14 of the 2015 season was one of the first harbingers of their 2016 revival which threatens to end the Broncos' run of five consecutive AFC West titles.

For the first time in a generation, Broncos-Raiders feels like it means something big to both teams -- and that it's about more than just where one of the two teams stands in the AFC West race.

It's Raiders Week in Denver, and with both teams among the league's best, it just feels right.

"It's a good way to start the back end of the season and a tough test for us," Kubiak said. "We're getting ready to go compete. We're looking forward to it."

GAME PLAN: The Broncos have been able to reach 6-2 despite having the league's worst first-quarter scoring margin -- mainly because they are the league's best fourth-quarter team, racking up a plus-67 tally that is 31 points better than the No. 2 team (Kansas City). If they start slowly and fall behind by multiple scores as they did in losses to Atlanta and San Diego, they will be forced into pass-first mode, which opens the door for Khalil Mack to cause the same havoc he did last year, when he notched five sacks in the Raiders' 15-12 win at Denver. But if the Broncos can stay within one score and can maintain offensive balance, their play-action game should be effective, and they should be able to keep pace with the Raiders' explosive offense.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

- Broncos tackles Donald Stephenson and Russell Okung vs. Raiders defensive end Khalil Mack.

Mack blistered the Broncos for five sacks in their game at Denver last December, a total that matches his half-season tally a year later. Four of the sacks came at the expense of Michael Schofield, who played right tackle last year but moved inside to right guard this season. Stephenson struggled in his return to the starting lineup against San Diego in Week 6, but has played better the last two games.

- Broncos pass rush vs. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr.

In the past two years, Carr has been sacked once every 23.4 pass plays, but against the Broncos, that rate spikes to once every 10.7 pass plays. Denver's pressure also forces Carr to deliver the football sooner than he'd like, settling for more short passes, which holds down his yardage per attempt -- 5.65 yards against the Broncos the last two seasons combed with 7.28 against all other opponents. With a full complement of edge rushers, Denver will try to disrupt Carr's timing and force him into errant throws like the one he made late in their October 2015 meeting at Oakland that resulted in a Chris Harris Jr. pick-six.