5 key matchups to watch: Broncos at Raiders

Here are the five matchups that will determine the outcome of Broncos at Raiders.

The NFL regular season is upon us. 

The Denver Broncos will open up their 2019 season by squaring off against the Oakland Raiders in the second game of a Monday Night Football doubleheader. Heated rivalries are often featured on national television, and no other matchup has seen more action on MNF more than these two AFC West counterparts.

Oakland, the focus of HBO’s hit series Hard Knocks, comes into 2019 with a star-studded offense featuring former MVP candidate Derek Carr and RB Josh Jacobs, a first-round selection out of Alabama that figures to be a large feature in Oakland’s offensive game plan. 

Free-agent addition Tyrell Williams offers a deep threat in the passing game that was desperately needed for the Oakland offense last season.

Denver boasts a new coaching staff and a defense headed by edge rushers Von Miller and Bradley Chubb, with Chris Harris, Jr. leading the charge in a newly refurbished secondary. Denver’s defensive personnel, combined with the new defensive philosophy brought in by head coach Vic Fangio, could lead to a top-five defensive unit this season.

Both teams have significant issues on the opposite side of their respective strengths. Oakland’s defense has a very sketchy secondary. In the preseason, Denver’s offense couldn't find traction, especially in the running game.

If the Broncos want to start their season off with a bang, they have to focus on winning these key matchups.

Von Miller vs. Trent Brown

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

We all know that  Miller is one of if not the best defensive players in all of football. Coming into this season, Miller has 98 career sacks. But going against Trent Brown could be a completely different task for the perennial All-Pro if Miller wants to eclipse the century mark in Week 1.

Brown, who had a solid season protecting Tom Brady’s blindside en route to a Super Bowl Championship, only allowed 3.5 sacks last season at left tackle. In his 2017 season as a San Francisco 49er, Brown only gave up one sack over 10 games at the right tackle position.

The Raiders plan to feature Brown at right tackle this year in an effort to bolster their offensive line against guys like Miller and Los Angeles Chargers' pass rusher Joey Bosa.

Miller had high praise for Brown a couple of years ago, calling him the “best right tackle in the league” following a joint practice with the Niners.

It is worth noting that Brown gave up 33 pressures over his 800-plus snaps as the Patriots starting left tackle, which ranked 33rd out of 49 qualifying players at the tackle position. Miller had 64 total pressures last season. 

Emmanuel Sanders vs. Gareon Conley

Coming into the preseason there were obvious health issues surrounding Sanders following a torn Achilles, leaving the Broncos with questions in their receiving corps. However, Sanders showed out in his preseason debut in the game against the Los Angeles Rams, which should assuage those concerns. 

Sanders looked like his usual self, showing confidence not only in his cuts while running routes, but carrying the football in open space. He looked aggressive on the field, whether carrying the football or not.

I do have one caveat to take into consideration, though. The Broncos seemed to make Sanders a focus in the offensive gameplan as they were trying to get a glimpse at what would he might bring to the offense if he were totally healthy. 

His production and focus within the offense that afternoon is not likely going to be normalcy throughout the season, and fans shouldn’t overlook that.

On the Raiders' side, CB Gareon Conley had a pseudo-breakout campaign in 2018, showing the elite traits that got him selected in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Conley only gave up 27 catches on 50 total targets over his 15 games played, while also gathering in three interceptions and knocking down 15 passes. 

While there are issues in zone coverage and as a tackler in open space, Conley has the athleticism and necessary traits to be an all-around lock-down cornerback in the NFL. Seeing Sanders going against Conley should be extremely fun to watch.

Can Sanders use his route running prowess to create enough separation against the upstart Conley?

Broncos IOL vs. Raiders DL

One of the biggest strengths to the Raiders’ defense this year is their defensive line. Don’t let last year’s statistics fool you in regards to the Raiders’ run defense. There is a lot to work with upfront for the Silver and Black.

Maurice Hurst is coming on strong and is showing the reasons why he should have been a first-round pick in 2018. Heart issues be damned, this kid is going to be special. 

Pairing him with Johnathan Hankins and former Charger Corey Liuget creates a unit that can get down and dirty in the running game, as well as create some pass rush along the interior.

The Broncos have struggled to gain any traction in the running game thus far in their preseason efforts. Possibly getting the full starting unit upfront, as well as Phillip Lindsay toting the rock, will help ease those issues. 

But there are still a lot of concerns creating holes on the ground when running inside zone plays. Connor McGovern hasn’t been great in his time playing center, and the Broncos are still searching for an answer at right guard. 

Nobody knows if or when Ronald Leary will be available, so Austin Schlottmann is poised to be the next man up. Schlottman has been alright in the running game, but a turnstile as a pass protector.

Dalton Risner has looked like a home run as a second-round pick at the left guard position, but with McGovern struggling to his right and Garett Bolles struggling to his left, the rookie can only do so much to help himself or the team.

If the Broncos want to gain any offensive momentum, they have to with the interior battle upfront.

Rich Scangarello vs. Paul Guenther

With a new Broncos coaching staff comes a new offensive coordinator in Rich Scangarello. Being a first-time coordinator, there is a lot of mystery as to how the offensive scheme is going to look for the Broncos' offense. 

One could deduce what Scangarello plans to display by looking back to his time with Niners' head coach Kyle Shanahan. However, there’s a lot more to be seen, and the preseason did us no favors in that aspect.

Paul Guenther, on the other hand, is a well-known commodity as a defensive coordinator from his time with the Cincinnati Bengals. He runs a hybrid defense primarily out of a 4-3 alignment upfront with a lot of exotic aspects to his schemes. 

There are a lot of complex blitzes and twists from his inside linebackers along the interior, and he mixes up shallow zone coverages with his outside linebackers while focusing on man coverage on the outside. A bump-and-run aspect is prevalent with his cornerbacks.

Erick Trickel and I will break down more of Scangarello’s scheme on the upcoming episode of Dove Valley Deep Divers podcast, and we will also highlight a few ways to beat Guenther’s scheme as well. Stay tuned by subscribing to the Huddle Up Podcast on Apple Podcasts and anywhere you get your pods.

Dwayne Harris vs. Broncos' special teams coverage

Denver's special teams coverage units have been absolutely God awful this preseason, and there’s little hope they can get better any time soon given the fact that most of the team's third-phase players are currently on the roster. 

Dwayne Harris is the type of punt returner that the Broncos hope they’ve acquired with the waiver claim of Dionte Spencer. However, the proof is already in the pudding with Harris, while it’s only speculation and projection with Spencer.

Harris is among the league's elite as a punt and kick returner, averaging 10.2 yards per punt return and 25.5 yards per kick return over his eight-year career with five total return touchdowns. Last season, as you all should remember, Harris took a botched coverage attempt 99 yards for a touchdown against the Broncos in what was arguably the most embarrassing loss that the team has suffered in recent memory.

While the odds are slim that Harris takes one to the barn, the odds are favorable that Harris makes a quality return that sets Oakland’s offense up with quality field position. The Broncos' coverage units have to step up to prevent a mind-blowing failure like last season. 

Follow Lance on Twitter @SandersonMHH and @MileHighHuddle.