Top spot in the AFC West is up for grabs in the Sunday Night Football this week as two sides who have started the season brilliantly meet at the Coliseum when the Oakland Raiders host their divisional rivals Denver Broncos.
Both sides have begun the season 6-2 and already both look locked in for a tilt at the postseason and the winners here could well find themselves with the division title and the home advantage in the first round that would bring.
Oakland Raiders
We’re going to find out an awful lot about the Oakland Raiders in this match. They are a side who haven’t been on Primetime very often recently and there is no doubt there is a little extra edge in these kind of matches so it will be interesting to see how this young side handle the pressures and the expectations with the eyes of the nation on them.
We will also find out just how good this side is. Credit must be given to them for winning six matches already this season – only the New England Patriots have won more – but the six sides they have beaten all currently have losing records so are Oakland the real deal or have they just taken advantage of a soft schedule?
Denver Broncos
It might be that we find out just how far the Denver Broncos can go this season in this match. The old adage is that defence win championships and this Broncos one will be severely tested in this encounter but we’ve seen them stand up time and time again although without a couple of first choice cornerbacks in this match how they adjust will be interesting.
I’m also interested to see how Trevor Siemian goes about his work here. This is an Oakland defence which you can get after but the Broncos will still need their triggerman to be calm in the pocket and to manage the game well – attributes which are needed in the playoffs.
Betting
So the question is are Oakland genuine division contenders or not? The answer is we don’t really know and when I’m betting I like to side with what we know and the one thing we do know is this Denver Broncos defence is up there with the best in the league.
Only one side has put up more than 21pts on the Broncos this season so you’ve got to think Oakland may well remain under that total. Can their defence restrict a perfectly competent Denver offense to fewer than 21pts? I’m not so sure. I’m siding with the proven quality in this one and that is the visitors.
Tips
Back Denver Broncos to beat Oakland Raiders for a 4/10 stake at 2.05 with Betfair
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