Denver Broncos vs Las Vegas Raiders | NFL – Oct. 17, 2021
After winning the SuperBowl in February 2016, Peyton Manning retired, and the Denver Broncos never again made it to the playoffs. Several head coaches have been changed, as well as several quarterbacks, but the right solution has not yet been found. Vic Fangio has one last chance to make it to the playoffs, otherwise he will most likely be fired as well. The Broncos on paper have one of the best defenses in the entire NFL, however the offense is a constant problem. Teddy Bridgewater seems like a good choice and it seemed to work great after the first three weeks, however after the defeats by the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, the picture is somewhat different.
The scandal that rocked the Las Vegas Raiders last week is one of the biggest in the 21st century in the NFL. Due to racist, homophobic and sexist emails from ten years ago, Jon Gruden was forced to resign, and the Raiders were left without their head coach after five weeks even though they started the season great. The locker room is in complete disarray, negative comments are hidden around every corner, and at this moment, everything is being talked about in Nevada except about what is happening on the field. Rich Bisaccia has been chosen as interim head coach however it is not realistic that he can be that leader as Gruden was. The Raiders travel on one of the toughest away games against the divisional rival at the worst possible moment for them.
Injuries
The Broncos will not have Mike Ford at their disposal due to injury, while Jerry Jeudi, Bradley Chubb, Jonas Griffith and KJ Hamler are also missing. Running back Melvin Gordon’s performance is questionable, but he has been training for a week and is expected to play.
At the Raiders, Richie Incognito, Denzelle Good, Gerald McCoy and Damon Arnette are out, while Jonathan Hankins is questionable.
Previous results and H2H
Denver Broncos got off to a great start to the new season with three consecutive wins, but then were followed by slight defeats by the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. The offense was simply not at the required level and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur worked all week to correct the shortcomings and bad decisions from the last two matches.
Las Vegas Raiders also scored wins in the first three weeks, then lost to the Los Angeles Chargers and Chicago Bears. Still, Gruden’s resignation overshadowed those defeats.
Raiders won both games against the Broncos last year.
Predictions
Pick: Denver Broncos -3.5
Odds: 1.80
Bookmaker: Bet365
After everything that happened to Gruden on Monday night, it’s hard to believe the Raiders are mentally well enough to face the Broncos in Denver. Both teams have two consecutive defeats, but the atmosphere is drastically different and it is to be expected that due to the alleged events, the Broncos will simply take advantage of the situation and reach easy victory.
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