RIVALRY: Denver Broncos Can’t OVERLOOK Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday Night Football

RIVALRY: Denver Broncos Can’t OVERLOOK Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday Night Football

Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders. A rivalry as old as time. And it all comes to a head on Thursday Night Football. We’ll break it all down here on today’s Crossover episode. [Music] You are locked on NFL Crossover, part of the Locked Onet. Your team every day. Everybody loves Thursday night football as the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders face off on a short week in an AFC West divisional matchup. I’m Cody Rook, host of Locked On Broncos, joined alongside by your boy Q. He’s our boy Q2 of Locked On Raiders to preview Thursday Night Football. We’ll go through why it’s a short week for both teams, some of the biggest storylines, postNFL trade deadline, where the Broncos are at, not looking too far ahead to Kansas City next week. Plus, we’ll go through key matchups in this game and how will the Broncos try to prepare for the Raiders and Brock Bowers without Patrick Certan the second. Then we’ll go through keys to victory for both sides. If the Raiders are going to win, what do they need to do? If the Broncos are going to win, what do they need to do? You get all that here on today’s crossover Thursday brought to you by friends over there at Prize Picks. Download the prize picks app today and use code locked on NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 up. Thanks to all the everydayers out there. Thanks for making us your first listen, however you choose to do so. Q, great to see you, my man. Always love being able to do these crossover shows. We get a chance to chop it up here as both of our teams are going to face off here on Thursday Night Football. Let’s get into the biggest story here. What is the biggest story for your Las Vegas Raiders coming into this AFC West matchup in prime time action on Thursday night? Well, coach, it’s always great to, you know, be a part of the show with you, you know, and talk a little Raiders and Broncos, but man, it’s been a wild, you know, short week for the Raiders. I mean, they have this tough loss at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Then boom, all of a sudden, they turn around, they trade Jacobe Myers to those Jacksonville Jaguars. And oh, by the way, they’re still preparing for a game coming up on Thursday. So, I mean, the NFL doesn’t slow down. And when you’re playing on a Thursday night, it comes even quicker. And so, that’s what the Raiders challenge is is how do they, you know, move on from one of their better wide receivers in Jacobe Meyers and who’s going to step up and and really fill that void. So, that’s really the story line that I’m looking at, right? and they uh put that loss to the Jaguars behind them quickly because they have to and then all of a sudden have some other guys step up into that role. So I’m looking at a guy like second round pick Jack B right out of TCU. What is he going to do? This is a guy that’s got seven catches on the season his rookie year. Dante Thornton Jr. out of Tennessee. He’s only got five catches his rookie year and was a healthy scratch on on Sunday against Jacksonville. So are one of these guys going to step up? Are they going to fill that void or is it going to be all the Brock Bower show? Maybe Michael Mayer and Trey Tucker. You know, how does Chip Kelly, how do the Raiders really compensate for a very good set of hands to Jacobe Myers, a really good route runner, a guy that just seems to find a way to get open and make himself available? How do they make up for his loss? To me, that’s going to be the biggest storyline for this team going into this short week, this game on Thursday. Well, and and that’s what I was going to ask you about, too, because I’ve been following the conversation this week, especially after they traded away Jacobe Meyers. But they you guys just recently brought in Tyler Lockett. As we know, Pete Carol loves Tyler Lockett. Uh I I saw some conversation that okay, what does that mean for Jack Bash out of TCU in terms of his snap counts and what I think he didn’t play any offensive snaps essentially against the Jaguars? Yeah, no offensive snaps against Jacksonville and Dante Thornton Jr. was a healthy scratch. So So what what do you think that’ll be this week? Do do you think it’ll be more Tyler Lockett? I mean, obviously I know Trey Tucker is their speed guy. He’s very fast. I know he was the, you know, from following your show in the offseason, I know he was the guy at training camp making the big plays downfield. And then of course there is the boogeyman of that offense, which we all know is Brock Bowers, who what a welcome addition back for him watching this past week over 12 catches, three Tutties. Uh what how do you think the Raiders come into this week trying to game plan against this ultraaggressive Broncos defense? Yeah, I think it’s going to be more than or it needs to be more than the Brock Powers show because I know the Denver Broncos have that really good defense and I know they’re going to key in on him knowing that, hey, that’s Gino Smith’s guy, right? And even in in plays that happened against Jacksonville, I saw times where Gino was just looking at Brock only. And there was other guys that were open on on the route, but he saw 89. And that’s not a bad place to go. That’s not a bad place to get comfortable, but these defensive players and defensive coordinators get paid, too. and they’re gonna lock in on that and say, “Hey, just jump 89, right? Just make sure that you’re right there. Get ready to jump that route because Gino’s going to go to him.” So, that’s why I’m saying a guy like Jack Bes and Dante Thornton Jr., they’re gonna have to step up now. I mean, it’s one thing to be a rookie and have a learning curve. Learning curve is gone when you trade your veteran wide receiver as far as I’m concerned. Now, your learning curve is done. Now, the team is looking at you saying, “Okay, Rook, it’s time to step up.” So, now everyone’s going to have to do a little bit more heavy lifting. Gino’s going to have to get selective as well. He can’t just lock in on one guy. And unfortunately that well that’s what he was on Sunday. And again it was great to see Brock Bowers out there as you mentioned 12 catches had three touch touchdowns on the day. But man you’ve got to be able to spread the ball around. You got to be able to get other guys involved or else it’s going to go the other way. Especially with a Denver Broncos team that creates a lot of turnovers. That’s the recipe for disaster for Thursday night. Yeah. And I’ll tell you what the biggest storyline here is for the Broncos this week. We all know no Pat Certan in this game. This going to be the first time we we’ll highlight a little bit later. This is the first time that they’ve played, you know, when Brock B has been on the field where PS2 is not going to be out there. PS2’s done a really great job of neutralizing that threat in previous matchups. So, that’ll be something we look forward to maybe seeing how it goes this week. I think the biggest story here is can the Broncos offense finally piece together a game where it’s not just fourth quarter heroics and that they can play effective football in the first quarter, second quarter, and the third quarter. They have yet to play a complete game so far, Q. And the crazy thing about it is they’re on a six-game winning streak. Thursday puts them at seven games, one in a row, which is crazy here. Uh we know that this Broncos team here, at least in Denver, they’re talented, but they’re not playing their best football yet, which can be a scary thing here is that they can find a way to do that. What is the story here with this Raiders defense this week and maybe how they might try to play Bo Knicks in this Broncos offense that’s been kind of so up and down so far this season? Yeah, I mean, it all starts up front. I mean, Patrick Graham’s defense is all based off of getting pressure on the quarterback with the front four, not having to blitz. And unfortunately for the Raiders, they haven’t got home enough, right? Only having 16 sacks on the season. They do have pressures. Obviously, Max Crosby is Max Crosby. But Cody, it’s been the same song and dance for the Raiders for a long time in their defense. Who is the true Robin to Max Crosby’s Batman? They still have not identified one. They’ve been trying to do it for years going back to Chandler Jones. Malcolm Coun obviously he’s been there. Tyrie Wilson was drafted to be that guy. Like, there’s been guys that have been brought in. and they obviously brought Christian Wilkins in to be a force from the interior and that didn’t work out. He only played five games. They still don’t have that true Robin and so it’s all on Matt Crosby and that’s just realistically that’s not going to get it done. So this this team has not been able to really maximize I think their ability defensively. Um the the the cover three that they’re running, the soft zone that they’re running, it seems like there’s a lot of holes in that zone where wide receivers could just sit down and make themselves available for the quarterback. So ultimately, this game is going to come down to, you know, the the Raiders defensive line is going to have to get pressure on Bo Knicks. They’re going to have to frustrate him, rattle him a little bit, and he’s tough to rattle. And not to mention, he can run as, you know, so they’re going to also have to kind of cage him in as opposed to just pinning their ears back and trying to get after him. They’re not going to be able to, you know, lose contain. If they lose contain, they’re going to lose him and they’re going to most likely lose the game. One of the bigger strengths of the Broncos offense this season has really been their run game. They’re they’re one of the top five units right now in terms of rushing yards per game. Last week, the the Raiders defense is coming off a performance where they let Jacksonville go for over a buck 50 on the ground. What is the story here with this Raiders run? Is it is it more so that because I even saw something as well as Devin White, you know, is we know who he can be. He’s also one of the top leaders in miss tackles so far this season. What is the story here with this Raiders run D? Yeah, they tackled terribly against Jacksonville. I mean, let’s just call it call it what it is. They did not tackle well at all. And honestly, going into that game, I knew Jacksonville was going to want to run the ball because they hadn’t ran the ball very well the first the the two games before that one. And they did, right? Over 40 times they they they ran the rock and like you said, went over a buck 50. And that’s the strength of the Raiders defense has been so far is really slowing down the run and stopping the run. So to me, that’s a huge red flag. Wait a minute, hold on. That’s one of your strengths and you just got gashed like that. So the linebackers, Landon Roberts, Devin White, Jamal Adams, right? these guys, they’re they’re they’re better at getting downhill and trying to stop the run, right? Jamal Adams loves to play around the line of scrimmage and even try to get after the quarterback. But when that all of a sudden gets compromised, you’re in trouble. So, the Raiders got to get back to the drawing board and figure out how to stop the run first and foremost because if not, then the Broncos are going to be having an opportunity to run all day long on them. And that’s that’s going to be a problem. Uh I I don’t I don’t know uh how they can how they can really play a good sound quality defensive game if they can’t stop the run because then all of a sudden it’s pick your poison. So that’s that’s the thing that they’re going to have to be able to do is stop the run with Denver. I I’ll say watching the film they definitely missed Trarevon Mo that that’s a guy I feel like would have been so great to have on this defense for them this season, especially on the outside. I know Shawn Peyton last year when talking about facing the Raiders, they they they mentioned Travon specifically. Now obviously he’s not on the Raiders anymore there. We’ll we’ll see where things are at here. This going to be an interesting matchup. Thursday night games are always weird because you don’t really have a chance to install a full-on game plan and get practice reps at full speed. It’s walkthroughs for everybody essentially. And that means we’ll see an interesting game potentially here on Thursday Night Football. But the matchups that we’ll dive into could define this outcome. The Broncos are going to try to figure out how to stop the Raiders and Brock Bowers without Patrick Certan. But also, how can the Broncos take advantage? How can the Raiders take advantage? We’ll go through key match ups that will define Thursday night’s game here on today’s episode of our Crossover Thursday. Locked on Broncos, locked on Raiders. Today’s Crossover Thursday is brought to you by our friends over there at Mizen and Manny. And you know the saying, look good, feel good, play good. The problem is most dressed clothes only check one of those boxes. They look sharp, but they feel stiff, hot, and high maintenance. 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Download the prize picks app today and use code locked on NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That’s code locked on NFL for $50 in lineups after your first $5 lineup prize picks. It’s good to be right. Crossover Thursday continues here on the Locked On podcast network. Locked on Broncos, locked on Raiders. We dive deep into some of the key matchups on Thursday Night Football that we have our eyes on. We want to say thank you so much to all the everyday there’s out there. Thanks for making us your first listen however you choose to do so. Don’t forget to subscribe or follow wherever you get podcast. Q. Let’s dive into key matchups to watch from the Las Vegas Raiders perspective. Which matchup are you eyeing specifically here for Thursday night football in such a short week where you don’t really get to install a full-on game plan? We talked to players in the locker room this week and they say it’s really about just going back to fundamentals because you don’t get those full speed practice reps as you’re just trying to get your body right for Thursday night. From the Raiders perspective, which matchup has your eye? Well, I’ll tell you, man, it’s funny you mentioned fundamentals because for me, the matchups are going to be about fundamentals and I think it’s the defensive line, right? I think it’s that front four. How can they be aggressive? How can they slow down Denver? You know, can they uh I don’t want to say have their way with the offensive line. I don’t think they’re going to have their way with anyone’s offensive line, but can they be productive against the Broncos offensive line? And can they slow down the run? If they can slow down the run, then it’s going to start to play into the factor what they want to do, which is pin their ears back and try to rattle Bo Knicks. But if they can’t stop the run, then there’s no reason for Bo Knicks to drop back 25, 30 times, right? they can just continue to hand the ball off like you saw the Jacksonville Jaguars do and just run up and down the field against the the Raiders. And so I I really think it’s going to be the match up of the defensive line against that offensive line. You know, the battle of the trenches. We talk about it all the time, but for this game knowing that Shawn Payeyton’s going to want to run the ball and obviously there’s some dudes there in Denver that can get it done. I mean, I’m watching some of the Broncos game a couple weeks ago and I want to say was it RJ Harvey that had a run about 30 some yards to the house where he didn’t even get touched. Like there was not even a guy that touched him. I was like, “Wait, does somebody want to put a hand on him?” Like, you know, I mean, it’s like one of those where I know if Shawn Peyton could go ahead and hand the ball off and continue to do that, he’ll do that. Obviously, Bo Knicks has a strong arm, could throw the ball around the yard, but man, I mean, it makes life so much easier if your running game is going. So, I think that the biggest challenge for the Raiders is going to be, you know, can that front four, can those linebackers come downhill, slow down the run, stop the run, and make the Broncos onedimensional. So really that’s the matchup that I’m looking for defensively for the Raiders to have a little bit of success against the Broncos. K, I think this is going to be the most important matchup of the game and I’m glad you highlighted it because so much of the Broncos offensive line, they’ve been highly graded by a lot of different metrics, right? But the idea of what we see with this offense and and Denver and their identity, I really think it is to run the football and everything else would open up for Bo Knicks. There’s been times this season where the Broncos simply haven’t committed enough to the run. Now, even though they’re a top five rushing offense right now in the NFL, that’s great and all, some of those numbers are skewed a little bit late there. Like, there are times where the Broncos, you know, they’ll get the run game going. I think last week against the Houston Texans, as we know, that’s a very good defense down there that Demo Ryan has. JK Dobbins got on a little bit of a hot start. Three carries for 24 yards early on, and then the Broncos just went into this habit of throwing, I think, five or six straight times after that, and you have incompletions. It stops the clock, and then all of a sudden, you’re punting. The Broncos can’t get into this formula against the Raiders on a short week. And I I’ve always said it this way. Even though that the Raiders are two and six, they’re sitting in a position right now where if they can try to poke holes in other team seasons, they will find a way to do that. They they’ll try to find a way to capitalize on that. The run game is going to be key. And I think from our perspective in Denver, the biggest frustration has been not consistently sticking with the run. Even though the production has been there in terms of the Broncos rushing offense and the output p, you know, per game this season, they don’t stick with it when they should. and then it forces Bo Knicks to just go out there and throw throw throw. You have to have balance and and hopefully this is a game where the Broncos can do that. My matchup that I’m gonna go to here I think is going to be how the Broncos defense which is one of the top units right now in the NFL. How do they prepare for Brock Bowers? Because as I mentioned earlier in the two times that the Broncos have faced off against the Raiders granted different quarterback Gardenner Mchu I think Aiden Okonnell in one game. Brock Bowers has been the guy that goes off against everybody, but he hasn’t necessarily gone off exa exactly against the Broncos when Pat Certan is covering him. But there is no Pat Certan in this game. It is Riley Moss. It is secondyear quarterback Chris Abrams drain and a combination of Jade Baron and the nickel corner Jaquan McMillan. I don’t think we’re going to see a game plan here where the Broncos have one guy follow Brock Bower specifically. I I just don’t think that they can do that. I think that they’re going to play their quarterbacks just based, you know, field, boundary, situationally. I I don’t see them matching up and saying, “Hey, if they’re going to move Brock, we’re going to follow.” I I think they like Riley Moss against Trey Tucker. Speed versus speed there in that regard. I’m very curious to see how Denver comes out and tries to game plan for him because look, we’re talking so much also about Brock Powers, but then there’s Ashton Genty, who I think could be multifaceted, not only as a runner, he runs through contact with ease. He’s a guy that can also impact you out of the backfield as well. I think that’s where maybe Drake Green law is going to come into the equation here for the Broncos defense. Yeah, that’s I’m glad you brought up Ashton Genty because it’s funny when you’re talking about the run game and the fact that the Broncos don’t really commit and stick with the run game. I feel like that, you know, I’m feel like I’m saying the same thing that you say when it comes to the Raiders offense because look, Genty will get like last week two carries to start the game for 17 yards and then Chip Kelly decided to call three pass plays and then they have to punt. You know what I mean? It’s like wait, hold on, you’re having success. Uh go ahead and and rock with it. you know, let the guy that you drafted number six overall be that guy that you drafted number six overall. But they haven’t truly committed to him as, you know, as the focal point of the offense. And now they get Brock Bowers back and and that was great. I mean, he was out for three weeks, so you know what he brings to the table. But yeah, that match up with uh, you know, whoever decides or however they decide that they’re going to defend Brock Bowers, that’s going to be huge. How is Ashton Genty going to play a role in this, right? I mean, he’s a guy that can catch the ball out of the back field as well. Uh, the Raiders don’t really emphasize that too much. He did catch five passes last week. I think he’s a 20 and five guy, Cody. I think he runs the rock 20 times and catches five passes a game. I think that’s a good recipe for Genty moving forward. He only got 13 carries last week. So, we’ll see if they, you know, if they start to listen to me at some point. I I know I’m loud. I’m the loudest dude in the room. They got to be able to hear me. I don’t know if they listen to me. It’s a difference. You can hear me, but you might not listen to me. So, I’d like to see them get Ashley Genty more involved. I mean, there’s a reason why you took him as high as you did, because he’s a big time playmaker. So, how could you make that chess match, right? How can Chip Kelly use Ash Genty in his favor against this Broncos defense? Yeah, I think that’s going to be interesting, too. And I’m I’m curious to see how maybe Chip Kelly tries to adjust against the Broncos pass rush. Right now, they lead the NFL by a wide margin in sacks, 40 sacks through nine games. Right now, they had 63 total last year through the entire 17 game stretch. They’re averaging around four or five a game at this point here. So, my next matchup that I got my eye on is obviously Jonathan Cooper, Nick Bonito against the outside offensive tackles here of the Las Vegas Raiders trying to get after Gino Smith. What has been the story from Gino from a pocket standpoint, from a pressure standpoint this season? How has he evolved around that? Because I know he’s throwing a lot of interceptions this season. Is that because of pressure primarily or is that just because he’s staring guys down? Well, it’s a combination of the two, right? He is definitely staring guys down, but he’s been under pressure as well, right? And I mean, so this is one of these games that this matchup that you’re talking about, the the Broncos defense getting after to the quarterback. This one concerns me a lot, right? I mean, the Broncos are having a historic season when it comes to the sacks that they’re getting. And Gino’s taking sacks, right? I mean, he’s a guy that can run, but he doesn’t really run very well. And he doesn’t know how to slide. Like, he just looks like it hurts when he slides, right? It just he he clearly is a guy that didn’t play baseball back in the day, right? He doesn’t have that sliding in the second skill set. But uh it just man he he takes a lot of sacks and this Raiders offensive line is still a work in progress with Colton Miller being out and he’s on IR right now. Stone Foresight is their left tackle. Uh DJ Glaze is their right tackle. He’s still trying to round into form. He’s only a secondyear guy. JPJ is their best offensive lineman right now. He’s at the right guard spot and I think he does a lot better job rush uh you know blocking than he does pass blocking. So that’s something to uh to pay attention to. And then you know there there’s center right is is a guy in Jordan Meredith that’s just learned how to play the center position. And so, and then Dylan Parm at the left guard spot, but he’s he’s just kind of there. Uh, this is a work in progress, man. This this could end up being, as I talked about the trenches earlier, this could end up being how the game is won or lost for for either team. If the Raiders could find a way to protect Gino, they could be in a good position because he can’t get the ball out and get it to the playmakers. But, man, if they struggle to to to protect him, it’s going to be a long day at the offense. And so far, this offensive line has done a pretty rough job when it comes to uh to blocking for Gino Smith. One thing the Broncos can’t forget is last year when Gino Smith was a member of the Seattle Seahawks, he had a big- time rushing touchdown against them on a key third down situation. So, have to account for him, have to account for the will route from the running back out of the backfield. We’ll see if the Raiders try to take advantage of some of the earlier issues the Broncos had with stopping that play and also maybe uh trying to avoid Gino turning back the hands of time with his legs in Thursday night’s game here. But Broncos country, Raiders Nation, coming up next here on Crossover Thursday Q and I, we’re going to tell you what each of our teams respectively need to do in order to come out with a victory in prime time action. You’ll get all that here on today’s Crossover Thursday. Today’s Locked on Broncos Crossover Thursday is brought to you by our friends over there at the Game Time app. The NFL season is back and honestly, there is nothing better than being in the stadium surrounded by fans cheering on your team. Man, Thursday Night Football, Broncos country. You can do that here inside the Mile High City with the Game Time app. But let’s be honest, getting tickets can be a hassle sometimes between cues, login screens, and prices jumping at checkout. 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As we jump into the fourth quarter action, today’s crossover Thursday here on the Lockdown Podcast Network. We want to say thanks once again to the Everydayers out there. Thanks for making us your first listen. Don’t forget to subscribe or follow wherever you get your podcast so you stay up to date what’s going on with your favorite teams every single day, all year long. That’s our promise to you. Q does a great job for Raiders Nation. If you’re a Broncos country member, you obviously know you get that here locked on Broncos as well. Q, let’s dive into how these teams are going to win because I think really for the Broncos perspective this week, sixgame winning streak, a matchup looming next week with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs right now with Denver sitting at top of the division. The number one thing that they must avoid is overlooking this Raiders team who I mentioned earlier is in a perfect position to poke some holes. So, if the Raiders are going to poke some holes in the Broncos season here on Thursday Night Football, what is it that they have to do to come out on top with a victory? Well, first, I’ll start defensively. I think they’re going to have to create a couple turnovers. I really do. And this is not something that’s a a calling card of the Raiders defense. It’s not something that they just hang their hat on and they know that they’re going to come up with some turnovers, but I do think that they need to steal a couple possessions in this one. I I really do. I mean, the there’s just there’s something about this Raiders offense. It’s not clicking on all cylinders. So, a couple short fields could help them put them in really good position to get into the end zone. So, uh somehow someway they’ve got to create some turnovers. They’re going to have to get some pressure on Bo Nicks. Max Crosby’s going to need to have a Max Crosby type day and somebody is going to have to help up step up and help him out. And I don’t know who that is. Uh because look, we’ve been talking about someone stepping up for and helping him out for a while and it really hasn’t come to fruition. I do like Jonah Lulu what he’s been able to bring from the defensive tackle position. He’s not in there all the time, but I mean, he’s got four sacks on the season. Max has five, and those are the two leading uh you know, sack artists for the uh for the silver and black, and it’s wild to think how many sacks the Broncos have. And the Raiders are struggling. Like I said, they only have like 16 on the season so far. So, clearly not enough, but a couple turnovers are going to need to be had for the Raiders defensively to to put their offense in in a good position. And then, Cody, offensively, I think it’s really simple. I think it’s the Brock Bowers and Ashton Gent show. And I know that there’s there’s plenty of other guys that get the rock, too. Trey Tucker, we talked about him. Michael Mayer, another really good tight end. I’d like to see him get more involved. Looking at the rookies, you know, Dante Thornton, Jack Besh, can they, you know, provide a little something something, a little spark to the the Raiders offense, but it’s got to go through Brock Bowers and Ashen Genty, right? Chip Kelly’s got to get creative. Uh, you can’t just, uh, you know, feed Brock every single play, every single pass play, feed it to him because the Broncos are smart. They’re going to jump those routes, going to take it the other way. But got to get creative how they use those guys, right? passing game, run game, but they’ve got to be heavily involved. I’d like to see Ashton Genty get way more involved than we saw him against the Jacksonville Jaguars. And you know, finally, you just got to protect Gino Smith. You don’t protect Gino Smith, he’s going to be on his back. Uh he was the guy who was second last year in Seattle when it came to sacks right behind Caleb Williams. I think he got sacked 68 times and Gino got sacked 50. Well, he’s on pace to get sacked a ton of times more. Uh so, they’ve got to protect him as well. And that’s not going to be a very easy task when you uh look at this Denver Broncos team that’s very opportunistic when it comes to getting to the quarterback. So, I mean, it’s it’s it sounds like a simple game plan, but really it’s sometimes you just got to keep it simple, stupid, right? You got to use the kiss method and and roll with it and and and the Raiders haven’t really done a very good job of doing that. So, I think it’s back to, you know, back to basics, back to fundamentals for this team if they’re going to have a chance on Thursday against Denver. What about for you? Well, I I think that’s that’s the thing like you you mentioned obviously trying to force takeaways here on this Broncos team. You know, Bo Nicks has has thrown a couple of interceptions the last couple of weeks where, you know, he he floats it a little high and inside against the Texans. You know, against the Cowboys, he tries to do a no look pass and ends up getting picked and and Denver’s defense starts off in rough field position. Bo has kind of had these moments this year where he’s kind of had a little bit of a slow start. So, the one thing I think the Broncos offense has to avoid against the Raiders here on Thursday night is coming out there. You can’t turn the football over early on. You have to protect it. Obviously, I think you have to maximize every possession that you get. I like the idea of the the kiss method, the keep it simple stupid method. The offense for Denver would benefit from that at times because sometimes Shawn Peyton gets a little too fancy with some of his play calls. You get like the tricky endarounds, the motions, you know, you get like the crazy setups where you motion one guy, fake the handoff to him, you fake the handoff to the running back, and then you roll out on a play action pass. I mean, some longer developing stuff. I I don’t think that’s going to necessarily work consistently against the Raiders when you talk about that pass rush presence of Max Crosby who in every game he’s played against the Broncos, he’s come away with a sack and that he’s he’s been a boogeyman here. And so the Broncos have to avoid Max Crosby creating pressure and then obviously Bo Nicks trying to force the football into tight windows with pressure on him because you can’t afford to turn the football over in a game on Thursday Night Football short week. You can’t overlook anybody. I think that’s going to be the biggest key and and to be able to take that pressure off of Bo to have to do all this. I think you just have to have complimentary football with the run game here. JK Dobbins, RJ Harvey, these guys have showcased the ability to be effective. JK is more of the effective ground guy. I think R.J. Harvey certainly can be, but R.J.’s been a really big weapon here for the Broncos out of the backfield as a pass catcher. Shawn Peyton has been looking for his Joker for quite some time. He’s got that guy here. and Harvey, who’s obviously got a handful of receiving touchdowns, obviously brought them back last week, had one against the Houston Texans. They love trying to isolate him in one-on-one matchups against linebackers because he just has the speed and the physicality to beat those guys in some of these situations here. I’ll be curious to see how the Raiders defense plays Courtland Sutton because a large portion of this year teams have been playing press outside coverage with the corners and having a safety play over the top and inside. They’re really trying to take away Courtland Sutton and then it’s really the focus is can Pat Bryant, Marvin Mims, Troy Franklin, can these guys go out there and make plays. Evan Ingram at tight end hasn’t had a lot of volume so far this season. If they can get him going, I think things open up well for them defensively. I’m with you, Q. I think the Broncos have to find a way to get after Gino Smith, continue the trend of disrupting the passer. I mean, the Broncos pass rush is very unique because Q, they’re not necessarily sending a lot of crazy fiveman rushes. They’ll do it. Vance Joseph will send five, six, sometimes seven. He’s diabolical sometimes the way that he does it, but primarily the Broncos have been getting home consistently with four players and that’s obviously on your outside. You got Nick Bonito, Jonathan Cooper, but then you got Zack Allen and you got John Franklin Meyers. If one of those guys gets a double team, the other one gets a one-on-one. They’re finding ways to win those matchups. The Broncos pass rush is very lethal and that’s going to be key this week, especially without having Pat Certan. If you can try to get to Gino Smith quickly before he can get the ball to Brock Bowers and maybe Trey Tucker on a couple of downfield shots and these other guys in the short to intermediate, the Broncos will have a chance to win this game. And and I think also complimentary football special teams, Denver special teams unit last week. Q, they played terribly in terms of their coverage. They are 31st right now in the NFL in kick return yards against right now. They didn’t have Marvin Mims last week. Michael Benny who filled in for him had a muff punt that led to points here for the Houston Texans right before halftime. They got to play better on that side of the ball here. They have yet to play a full game of complimentary football. This could be the week where they get that. But they cannot overlook the Raiders. This, in my opinion, could be a trap game here for the Broncos. Yeah, it’s going to be interesting, man. It really will because look, a lot of the things that you just said that the Broncos do really well, the Raiders don’t do very well, right? So, it could end up becoming one of those stand in the middle of the field and fights and and you know, whoever’s got the best haymakers, whoever’s got the one that can be the knockout blow is going to win this game. Uh, look, it feels like the advantage and and I know the advantage is definitely for Denver. Obviously, they’re leading the AFC West for a reason. Uh, it’s at it’s in Denver, so it’s also going to play a factor in this game. And that pass rush, man, that pass rush really worries me. I think you’re going to see a lot of, you know, six offensive linemen out there have a, you know, offensive lineman report as a tight end. And I think you’re going to see some of that. They’ve been putting Alex Kappa out there. They got to do whatever they can to to protect Gino Smith cuz look, there’s a one pass, two passes a game where Gino is Gino. You know what I mean? Like you see that pass coming, you’re like, “Oh man.” So, he’s got to avoid the goss. And he had one of those last week to start the third quarter where he just threw the ball way too far across the field and and you know, he he um he was um staring down Michael Mayer and he got picked. And so it’s just it’s one of these, you know, situations after other after another. And that’s the reason why, you know, he’s leading the league or tied with the the most interceptions in the league right now. It’s just it’s just not good. So he’s going to have to protect the ball at all costs as well. Well, it all boils down to Thursday Night Football. Prime time action in the Mile High City between two teams with such a storied rivalry. Make sure you continue to check out Locked on Raiders if you’re a member of Raiders Nation. Locked on Broncos if you’re a member of Broncos country as we’ll have you covered obviously with this preview but postgame coverage as well here on the locked on podcast network where you know it’s your team every day Q it’s always great being able to sit down. We’re going to be doing one of these here in a few weeks as well because I think the Broncos and the Raiders I think you play week 14 in Vegas. So you’re going to have a little bit of a two shows here between us in the next handful of weeks here. But always love sitting down with your boy Q. He’s our boy Q. I know Broncos country always rocks with Q here. uh they they appreciate the way he brings coverage to obviously the table here of the AFC West. And on top of that, we’ll all see you for our postgame coverage here on the Locked On Network.

The Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders face off in a heated AFC West rivalry on Thursday Night Football. Considering the short week, the Broncos can’t overlook the Raiders, especially in a divisional matchup. How will the Broncos prepare for Brock Bowers without Patrick Surtain II? Can Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper get after Geno Smith and shut down the run against Ashton Jeanty?

Cody Roark and Your Boy Q break down the Broncos-Raiders matchup in primetime from every angle.

Cody Roark is a credentialed beat reporter for Mile High Sports and covers the Broncos daily in person. Sayre Bedinger is the site expert for Predominantly Orange. Both bring Broncos Country the most in-depth and objective coverage of the Denver Broncos.

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