Mile High Roundtable: Bold predictions for Broncos at Raiders
The Denver Broncos are looking to end Week 1's action and kick off their regular season by going into Oakland and taking on the Raiders. The MHH staff has some bold predictions for the game.
Khalid Alshami (@KhalidHAlshami): McManus leads the way
Oakland has been in disarray this offseason with their well-documented training camp storylines, still, I'm not sold on Denver's offense. In this one, I think the Broncos have a tough time punching it in on offense with Joe Flacco at the helm. At least four field goals from Brandon McManus, with at least three from 40 and one from 50.
Carl Dumler (@CarlDumlerMHH): Fant comes up big in rookie debut
Noah Fant ends up with two receiving touchdowns in this game. Fant had his struggles this offseason, but one area where he shined throughout training camp was in the red zone. Fangio has already said they have a plan to involved Fant and I think he makes a couple of big catches for touchdowns in this one.
Thomas Hall (@ThomasHallNFL): Flacco throws three touchdowns
Joe Flacco throws for three touchdowns with one being at least 30 yards. The Raiders' defense is suspect and they will be thinking the Broncos will go heavy on the run. Flacco will use play-action to push the ball down the field. Furthermore, the Raiders were very vulnerable to deep passes to the right of the field in 2018.
Nick Kendell (@NickKendellMHH): Broncos' pass rush dominates with five sacks
The Broncos' defense will be suffocating but struggle a bit against RB Josh Jacobs. In the end, the Broncos' pass rush dominates and has five team sacks and a close win.
Bob Morris (@BobMorrisSports): Chubb comes up big with three sacks
Bradley Chubb gets three sacks. I think the Raiders are going to focus so much on Von Miller that it opens things up for Chubb. He was tremendous during the preseason, but with Miller in the lineup, plus Shelby Harris and Derek Wolfe on the defensive line, that makes it more difficult for the Raiders to focus on Chubb. Expect him to be the guy who sets the tone on defense and gives Derek Carr problems early and often in Monday's game.
Lance Sanderson (@SandersonMHH): Harris, Jr. Simmons & Yiadom each notch a takeaway
The Raiders are a circus following the Antonio Brown saga, and their offense just took a massive hit with his release. The rest of the receiver depth outside of Tyrell Williams isn't exactly awe-inspiring. With a defensive scheme that creates a large amount of turnovers and a ballhawking cupboard of secondary players, picking off three Derek Carr passes is well within the scope of reality. Each of Chris Harris, Jr., Justin Simmons and Isaac Yiadom take a ball the other way on Monday Night Football.
Erick Trickel (@ErickTrickel): Hamilton goes over 100 yards receiving
The Raiders' depth at corner is terrible and DaeSean Hamilton plays right into their weakness. He should be a focal point of their offense as a result and emerges as a threat in their first game. This savvy route runner will be hard for the Raiders to handle without letting Emmanuel Sanders completely own them.
