Mile High Roundtable: Broncos at Raiders | Week 1 | Predictions & picks
Khalid Alshami (@KhalidHAlshami): After ruining Hard Knocks, the Raiders' level of dysfunction has hit new lows with the Antonio Brown saga. His distraction aside, the Raiders were a bad football team a season ago and as a result, are a very young football team this season. Von Miller and Bradley Chubb will cause havoc.
Pick: Broncos 20, Raiders 10
Josh Carney (@JCarney_Sports): The Raiders are mostly a mess right now due to the major distraction that Antonio Brown has been, while the Broncos appear disciplined and focused. Denver’s defense is champing at the bit to get off to a fast start against a hyped-up offense, while the new-look Broncos' offense gets to face off against a reloaded Raiders' defense. Give me the disciplined, focused group over the one dealing with headache after headache unrelated to football.
Pick: Broncos 24, Raiders 13
Carl Dumler (@CarlDumlerMHH): Antonio Brown has been the gift that keeps on giving, one of the biggest distractions in recent NFL history. My guess is a good chunk of Oakland's gameplan was going to run through AB, which is why the Raiders were willing to put up with his crap for so long. He is gone and I do think it has left the Raiders scrambling a bit. Beyond that, the Broncos come in against a team that looks like they will struggle to stop the run, which plays right into what the Broncos want to do on offense. I think the Broncos make a nice statement on the road here.
Pick: Broncos 24, Raiders 14
Thomas Hall (@ThomasHallNFL): The Broncos will march into Oakland and take this game by a decent margin. The Raiders are dysfunctional right now, but that’s not the deciding factor. The Broncos' pass rush of Von Miller, Bradley Chubb and Shelby Harris will be too much for the Raiders. Derek Carr is not a great QB under pressure.
Pick: Broncos 27 Raiders 10
Chad Jensen (@ChadNJensen): The Raiders are reeling right now, as my colleagues have stated well. However, a wounded animal is one that should always be respected, if not feared. The Raiders still have plenty of firepower sans Antonio Brown but the advantage the Broncos have going into the Black Hole is twofold: One, no one's seen Rich Scangarello's offense, nor Joe Flacco in Scangarello's scheme. Two, NFL coaches have a very difficult time preparing for Vic Fangio's scheme, which is feared across the league. The Broncos will surprise the NFL world by handling the Raiders with authority on a national stage and break their three-game losing streak in the Black Hole.
Pick: Broncos 24, Raiders 20
Trevor Judge (@TrevorJudge): My outlook on this game has been a roller coaster the last few days with the Antonio Brown saga. That said, at no point did I have the Broncos losing this one. Sans AB, I can’t see Derek Carr stringing together enough drives against this stingy Denver defense to pull off a win.
Pick: Broncos 16, Raiders 10
Zack Kelberman (@KelbermanNFL): The news of Antonio Brown's stunning release is bad news for football fans, as it's must-see TV watching the seven-time Pro Bowler square off against All-Pro cornerback Chris Harris, Jr. But it's a break for the Broncos, who enter a hostile environment for an always-difficult rivalry game. Assuming Denver can contain Derek Carr, forcing the Raiders' ground game to beat them, Vic Fangio should prove to be the difference in a sloppy, low-scoring, defensive struggle that may come down to the final possession.
Pick: Broncos 20, Raiders 19
Nick Kendell (@NickKendellMHH): The Broncos entering a must-win game in Week 1? Given the gauntlet of a schedule this season, the chances of a playoff birth drop drastically with a loss against Oakland. Oakland has offensive firepower but its defense is still a mess. Denver, on the other hand, appears to be quite the opposite. Denver wins with defense a mistake-free football.
Pick: Broncos 27, Raiders 24
Bob Morris (@BobMorrisSports): The Broncos have the makings of a team that will dominate on defense, though its offense has some important flaws. That's why the Broncos can't take anything for granted when they open the season Monday against AFC West rival Raiders. Oakland may have gone through a lot of distractions with Antonio Brown, but that doesn't make them a pushover. They should have a good offensive line, running back Josh Jacobs is a capable playmaker and the defense should be improved. And while Derek Carr isn't an elite QB, he's shown in the past he can move the ball against Denver's defense. The Broncos will need to have their ILBs and DBs step up in case the pass rush doesn't get much going early on. Denver must prepare for Carr attempting shorter passes designed to move the chains and keep the defense on the field.
On offense, the Broncos have to finish drives. That was an issue for the first-team offense in the preseason. If the Broncos get into the red zone, they have to capitalize. If they can finish a couple of offensive drives with touchdowns in the first half, and the defense can get the Raiders offense off the field early, they should be in good position to win this game. I don't expect a blowout, but if the Broncos execute on enough plays, they should come away with a season-opening win.
Pick: Broncos 23, Raiders 13
Lance Sanderson (@SandersonMHH): With a new offensive scheme that's mostly an enigma at this point, it's hard to project exactly what this Broncos' offense is going to look like this season. We have some idea from the preseason games and going back to 2016, when OC Rich Scangarello was calling plays at Wagner College. Regardless, other than the solid defensive line that the Raiders possess, their defense as a whole looks sketchy on paper. This is the true offensive debut, and I believe that the Broncos offense starts off strong.
Pick: Broncos 24, Raiders 17
Erick Trickel (@ErickTrickel): Denver has good pieces on both sides of the ball to exploit areas of weaknesses of the Raiders. The Broncos' offense needs to show they can execute but having RG Ron Leary back should help some. Defensively, the Broncos are going to be hard to move the ball against for the Raiders and their offensive line has some major weak points. With all the Antonio Brown drama, this may be a team whose distractions will cause them to lose focus. Raiders are treading water and the Broncos can take advantage.
Pick: Broncos 27, Raiders 13
