The Denver Broncos will play in the final game of Week 1 this Monday night against the Oakland Raiders. While the Raiders have been more dramatic than a season of Days of Our Lives lately, the Broncos are a team coming in focused and ready to start the tenure of Vic Fangio off with a victory.
The last time the Broncos went into the “Black Hole” was last Christmas Eve and the Raiders outplayed them and left with a 27-14 victory. For the Broncos to reverse that result, they’ll need to follow these three keys to victory.
1. Ride Phillip Lindsay
Lindsay should come into this game with a sense of vengeance. The last time he was in the Raiders’ stadium, he left with a severe wrist injury that not only knocked him out of the game but caused him to miss the Pro Bowl after he was the first undrafted offensive rookie to ever be selected to the All-Star game.
The Broncos really need to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball in this game and they should shoot for at least 20 carries for Lindsay. As long as he is getting the rock and the pile is moving forward, the Broncos need to hand him the ball early and often.
2. Make the Raiders throw the ball
Derek Carr can be an effective passing quarterback, but the Raiders are going to want to use their massive offensive line and their rookie running back, Josh Jacobs, to win this game.
Without Antonio Brown, the Raiders’ passing attack becomes a lot less intimidating. The Broncos need to dare Carr to beat them through the air.
This will also allow the team to come after the passer with Von Miller and Bradley Chubb. Fangio’s Chicago Bears ranked seventh in the league against the pass last year and the Broncos, though the players aren’t the same, have been stout against the pass before.
Chris Harris and Justin Simmons will be key factors in keeping the Raiders aerial attack in check and they should be able to do that now that Brown is no longer in Oakland.
3. Don’t settle for field goals
The Broncos kicked a lot of field goals in the preseason. In fact, it seems like that was all they did. That won’t work when the games start to count.
Joe Flacco needs to get the team into the end zone. The Raiders figure to be one of the league’s inferior teams so the Broncos need to stay aggressive, particularly in the red zone. Field goals net points, but they also allow teams to hang around.
