3 keys to a Broncos victory at Raiders in season opener
The Denver Broncos drew a very familiar opponent for Week 1. In the regular season opener, the Broncos will travel to take on their bitter Division rival — the Oakland Raiders.
It's been a long time since the Broncos won in Oakland — three years to be exact. That's right. The last time Denver won at Oakland was during the 2015 Super Bowl season.
Despite the drama and outside noise, the Raiders have not-so-quietly improved over the last couple of years. This past draft, after hiring Mike Mayock as general manager, the Raiders capitalized on the Khalil Mack trade by selecting three players in the first round, flooding the roster with impact players.
Oakland also added several free agents, including one extremely high-profile, and high-maintenance, wide receiver. Seven-time Pro Bowl wideout Antonio Brown now calls Oakland home.
It's also year two for Jon Gruden in Oakland. That means it's also year two for QB Derek Carr in Gruden's offense. Traditionally, year two in a new system is when established QBs tend to take a quantum leap.
Meanwhile, the Broncos hired Vic Fangio to be the 17th head coach in franchise history and acquired former Super Bowl MVP QB Joe Flacco via trade. Denver also had a solid draft, with three selections in the first two rounds.
Which one of these AFC West clubs will emerge victorious on Monday Night Football? That remains to be seen.
The real question is, what's it going to take for the Broncos to snap their ignominious losing streak in the Black Hole?
In the video above, I lay out three keys to a Broncos victory on opening night. Click the play button and then afterward, tell me what your keys to victory are in the comment section below.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
