3 things to know about Raiders’ foe: Broncos playing for AFC’s best record
The Raiders have lost six straight games to fall to 2-10 and will welcome the 10-2 Broncos on Sunday to Allegiant Stadium.
The Raiders pushed the Broncos to the limit four weeks ago in a 10-7 road loss. It could be argued that the Raiders gift-wrapped that game to Denver.
One also could argue that on the Broncos’ worst night of the season, the Raiders still didn’t have what it took to beat them. They had their chance and blew it. What are the odds of Denver leaving a similar door open in this AFC West rematch?
Here are three things to know about the Broncos:
1. Eyes on the big prize
The Broncos are as close to a playoff certainty as any other team in the NFL. But don’t expect a letdown against the Raiders, even if this screams trap game.
The matchup has significant meaning for the Broncos. A win gives them control of the tiebreaker advantage over the 11-2 Patriots for the top seed in the AFC playoffs.
If both teams win out, they will finish with identical overall and conference records. The next tiebreaker to determine the top seed in the playoffs is winning percentage against common opponents.
That’s where the Raiders come into play. They defeated the Patriots in the season opener. With a win Sunday, the Broncos will sweep the season series against the Raiders.
If so, and if they and the Patriots win their remaining games, the Broncos will finish 6-0 against the opponents they have in common with the Patriots. New England will be 5-1.
That means the Broncos will take the top seed, and with it a first-round bye and home-field advantage.
“We worked for this moment and opportunity,” Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II told the Denver media Wednesday. “I feel like we control our own destiny.”
2. Bonitto impressive
The Broncos invested four years and $120 million into Nik Bonitto, their 26-year-old linebacker from Oklahoma, and to say the contract is already paying off is an understatement.
After registering a career-high 13½ sacks last season, Bonitto has 10½ this season. That makes him the first Broncos player to register back-to-back seasons of double-digit sacks since Von Miller did it three straight seasons from 2016 to 2018.
Bonitto is much more than a sack artist, though, as evidenced by the remarkable play he made to swat down Marcus Mariota’s two-point conversion throw last week to preserve the Broncos’ 27-26 overtime win over the Commanders.
“He’s explosive. He’s really slippery,” Raiders coach Pete Carroll said. “He’s a really good all-around athlete. He’s got all of the knack physically to slip you and to avoid you and to race right on past the tackles. And he has a great motor.”
3. Bo believes
Plenty of people are poking holes in the Broncos’ 10-2 record, pointing to everything from the quality of their opponents to their numerous close games to how the defense is carrying the day.
Bo Nix, the Broncos’ second-year quarterback, is tuning it all out. The record is the record, and he isn’t about to apologize for it.
“The worst thing you can do is let other people tear down a 10-2 record, whether it’s saying, ‘You don’t play anybody,’ or, ‘You’re just relying on defense,’ ” Nix said. “We don’t really worry about it.”
Nix takes pride in helping orchestrate a complete turnaround in Denver. It wasn’t long ago that the Broncos strung together seven straight losing seasons.
“We know we’ve come a long way,” Nix said. “This franchise and organization has had some great years, and then went into a little lull there for a minute, but it just takes a couple guys who get it back on track.”
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.
