The Denver Broncos aren’t the prettiest division leader, but they could be regarded as one of the most dangerous with one of the most stringent defensive units in the NFL.
Sunday, they’ll bring their stifling stop unit to Las Vegas to face the hapless Raiders, who at this point have to be hoping they can maintain their place in the NFL Draft, right now with a top four pick.
The Broncos will look to take another step toward supplanting the Kansas City Chiefs atop as AFC West kings.
Here’s a quick glance at Sunday’s game:
LAST TIME OUT: Raiders lost 31-14 at Chargers; Broncos won 27-26 at Washington.
LAST MEETING: Broncos won 10-7 on Nov. 6 in Denver.
VEGAS LINE (courtesy Westgate): Broncos -7.5, +100, O/U 40.5
BETTING TRENDS: The Broncos enter on a nine-game win streak, but have failed to cover four of their last seven. Denver has stayed under in three of their last four. The Raiders have lost six in a row and are 0-3 ATS in their last three. Five of their last eight have stayed under. The road team has covered the last two meetings.
RAIDERS KEY PLAYERS: Quarterback Geno Smith completed 18-of-23 attempts (78.3%) for 165 yards and two TDs with a 107.4 rating last week against the Chargers. Smith is aiming for his fourth straight at home with 235 or more yards passing and a touchdown. … RB Ashton Jeanty had six catches and 61 scrimmage yards last week in Inglewood. He leads all rookies in scrimmage yards (886) and scrimmage TDs (8).
Jeanty is aiming for his fourth straight with six or more catches. He has a TD in four of his past five at home. … TE Brock Bowers led the team with 63 yards receiving and two TD receptions last week. He’s aiming for his fourth straight at home with 55 or more yards receiving.
PROP TO WATCH: Smith Under 210 yards passing (+110)
The Broncos allow 219.6 yards passing per game, and since Smith has thrown for an average of 197.3 yards per game since Week 2, I don’t know how efficient he will be against this front line. When the teams met in Week 9, Smith threw for 143 yards. In five career games against the Broncos, he’s averaging just 139.8 yards passing per contest.
BRONCOS KEY PLAYERS: QB Bo Nix completed 29-of-45 attempts (64.4%) for 321 yards and a TD in Week 13. Nix is aiming for his third straight with 295 or more yards passing. … RB RJ Harvey had 62 scrimmage yards and two rushing TDs last week. He is one of four rookies with two or more scrimmage TDs in two or more games this season. He now aims for his third straight with 50 or more scrimmage yards and a TD on the road. … WR Courtland Sutton had five catches for 62 yards and a TD last week and now aims for his third straight on the road with a receiving TD and third in a row overall with 55 or more receiving yards. Sutton torched the Raiders with eight catches for 97 yards and two TDs the last time he played in Las Vegas.
PROP TO WATCH: Sutton anytime TD scorer (+160)
It’s hard to pass up the plus price with Sutton getting in the end zone when his six career touchdowns against the Raiders are his second most against any team. He snapped a two-game drought with a touchdown last week against the Commanders, and now faces a defense that has allowed 15 touchdowns to receivers this season, fifth most in the NFL.