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The Denver Broncos (3-2) and the Las Vegas Raiders (3-2) are both teams on the ropes here in Week 6. One is reeling from a two game skid and the other from a sudden ouster of their head coach. The winner of this game might just save their season.
Game Preview
For me, the single biggest issue facing the Broncos is their offensive output in the red zone. There have been miscues for sure, but I largely see the problem being the plays being called on the field as they get close to the end zone.
I remain hopeful offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur will figure this out and stop getting cute with his play calling in the red zone, but I’m not confident he has the self awareness that the issue is, in fact, him in this case. He used the phrase ‘keep grinding’ a lot in this week’s presser and I personally hated it. Instead of ‘keep grinding’, how about we ‘adapt’?
Adapt the game plan in situations where the game plan has been an abject failure. Such as the red zone. Part of that would be expanding the run game a bit in the red zone. I think both Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams have the ability to break tackles and make things much more interesting inside the 10 yard line over whatever the Hell was called last week from the Pittsburgh Steelers five yard line that resulted in a 12 yard sack. It wasn’t on Teddy Bridgewater either as that play was blown the second the ball was snapped. And this is just the most recent example. Every single game has had some questionable red zone play calling that resulted in field goals over touchdowns. This has to get fixed and ‘keep grinding’ isn’t likely going to do that.
Hopefully he’s just coach speaking us and he is already adapting his tendencies to fit things that are actually working on this offense, or it could be another field goal heavy day on Sunday.
Here’s how to watch.
TV Schedule
When: Sunday, October 17 at 2:25 p.m. Mile High time
Where: Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado
Channel: CBS
Announcers: Andrew Catalon (play-by-play), James Lofton (analyst) and Amanda Ballonis (sideline reporting)
Radio: KOA - 850 AM | 94.1 FM & The Fox - 103.5 FM | Dave Logan (play-by-play) and Rick Lewis (analyst)
If you see BLUE in the map below, you will at least get the Broncos-Raiders game on your local CBS affiliate station this week. It’s not the premiere game in this time slot though, so you can forget about it if you live in Alaska or Hawaii.
If you see BLUE in your area, you will get the #Broncos #Raiders game on CBS this weekend. https://t.co/mj4sUaW0Vv
— Tim Lynch (@TimLynch1978) October 15, 2021
Online Streaming
Broncos Injury Report
Player | Pos. | Injury | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Game Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Pos. | Injury | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Game Status |
Mike Ford | CB | Knee | DNP | DNP | DNP | OUT |
Melvin Gordon III | RB | Hip | DNP | LIMITED | LIMITED | QUESTIONABLE |
Kareem Jackson | S | Back | DNP | LIMITED | FULL | QUESTIONABLE |
Mike Purcell | DL | Back | LIMITED | FULL | FULL | - |
Ronald Darby | CB | Hamstring | FULL | FULL | FULL | - |
Shelby Harris | DE | Wrist | FULL | FULL | FULL | - |
Justin Simmons | S | Hand | FULL | FULL | FULL | - |
Courtland Sutton | WR | Ankle | FULL | FULL | FULL | - |
Aaron Patrick | OLB | Ankle | - | LIMITED | DNP | QUESTIONABLE |
Raiders Injury Report
Player | Pos. | Injury | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Game Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Pos. | Injury | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Game Status |
Johnathan Hankins | DT | Hip | DNP | DNP | DNP | DOUBTFUL |
Carl Nassib | DE | NIR – Personal/Ribs | DNP | FULL | FULL | - |
Yannick Ngakoue | DE | NIR – Rest/Knee | DNP | LIMITED | FULL | - |
Darren Waller | TE | NIR – Rest/Knee | DNP | FULL | FULL | - |
Brandon Facyson | CB | Hip | LIMITED | LIMITED | FULL | - |
Quinton Jefferson | DT | Back | LIMITED | DNP | LIMITED | QUESTIONABLE |
Dallin Leavitt | S | Knee | LIMITED | LIMITED | FULL | - |
Cory Littleton | LB | Shoulder | LIMITED | FULL | FULL | - |
Roderic Teamer | S | Ankle | LIMITED | LIMITED | FULL | - |
Johnathan Abram | S | Shoulder/Calf | FULL | LIMITED | FULL | - |
Peyton Barber | RB | Toe | FULL | FULL | FULL | - |
Casey Hayward | CB | Knee/Ribs/NIR – Rest | FULL | FULL | DNP | - |
Nate Hobbs | CB | Shoulder | FULL | FULL | FULL | - |
Alec Ingold | FB | Shoulder | FULL | FULL | FULL | - |
Kolton Miller | T | Pectoral | FULL | FULL | FULL | - |
Brandon Parker | T | Ribs | FULL | FULL | FULL | - |
Denzel Perryman | LB | Toe | FULL | FULL | FULL | - |
Josh Jacobs | RB | Illness | - | DNP | LIMITED | - |
Henry Ruggs | WR | Knee | - | - | FULL | - |
Broncos Betting Odds
The Broncos opened very slight home favorites, but the line quickly grew to 3.5-points early in the week and is now a 4-point spread heading into Sunday. All stemming from the racist, homophobic, and misogynistic emails Jon Gruden sent while at ESPN. I hate lines driven by outside forces as that often leads to an overly motivated team and that overly motivated team could be the Raiders this week. Hopefully
Matchup History
The Raiders are easily the Broncos’ most hated rivals and those first two decades continue to keep the woeful Raiders afloat with a 66-53-2 advantage over Denver since 1960. It also hasn’t helped that since Peyton Manning’s last game against the Raiders, the Broncos are a mere 4-7 against a team that has averaged over 10 losses per season since 2003. Not exactly a good trend for Denver here.
Hot Reads
Broncos Podcasts
We got an outstanding podcast lineup for you each week and a big thank you to all who listen to our shows each week. We love you! Go Broncos!
On MHR Radio this week, Ian St. Clair and Adam Malnati talk about the fate of Jon Gruden and how that might affect the Raiders as they prepare to take on the Broncos in Week 6.
On the Cover 2 Broncos podcast with Joe Rowles and A.J. Schulte, they met up with SI’s Zach Hicks to talk about the overall state of the Denver Broncos.
The Dublin to Denver podcast with Michael McQuaid, Colum Cronin, and Stewart Roche reviewed the road loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers and previewed the upcoming game against the Raiders.
You can subscribe to our podcast feed on ApplePodcasts, GooglePlay, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and anywhere else you get your podcasts.
Social Media Information
MHR Facebook Page: Mile High Report: A Denver Broncos Blog
MHR Twitter: Follow @MileHighReport
MHR Instagram: Follow @MileHighReport
Denver Broncos Fan Group: Denver Broncos Football
MHR Live on Twitch: Follow @ MHR_Live
2021 Denver Broncos Schedule
Wk | Date | Opponent | Time (MT) | TV | Score | Record |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wk | Date | Opponent | Time (MT) | TV | Score | Record |
1 | 9/12/2021 | at New York Giants | 2:25 PM | FOX | 27-13 | 1-0 |
2 | 9/19/2021 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | 11:00 AM | CBS | 23-13 | 2-0 |
3 | 9/26/2021 | vs New York Jets | 2:05 PM | CBS | 26-0 | 3-0 |
4 | 10/3/2021 | vs Baltimore Ravens | 2:25 PM | CBS | 7-23 | 3-1 |
5 | 10/10/2021 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | 11:00 AM | FOX | 19-27 | 3-2 |
6 | 10/17/2021 | vs Las Vegas Raiders | 2:25 PM | CBS | 24-34 | 3-3 |
7 | 10/21/2021 | at Cleveland Browns (TNF) | 6:20 PM | NFLN | 14-17 | 3-4 |
8 | 10/31/2021 | vs Washington Football Team | 2:25 PM | FOX | 17-10 | 4-4 |
9 | 11/7/2021 | at Dallas Cowboys | 11:00 AM | FOX | 30-16 | 5-4 |
10 | 11/14/2021 | vs Philadelphia Eagles | 2:25 PM | CBS | 13-30 | 5-5 |
11 | 11/21/2021 | BYE | ||||
12 | 11/28/2021 | vs Los Angeles Chargers | 2:05 PM | CBS | 28-13 | 6-5 |
13 | 12/5/2021 | at Kansas City Chiefs (SNF) | 6:20 PM | NBC | 9-22 | 6-6 |
14 | 12/12/2021 | vs Detroit Lions | 2:05 PM | FOX | 38-10 | 7-6 |
15 | 12/19/2021 | vs Cincinnati Bengals | 2:05 PM | CBS | 10-15 | 7-7 |
16 | 12/26/2021 | at Las Vegas Raiders | 2:25 PM | CBS | 13-17 | 7-8 |
17 | 1/2/2022 | at Los Angeles Chargers | 2:05 PM | CBS | 13-34 | 7-9 |
18 | 1/8/2022 | vs Kansas City Chiefs (SAT) | 2:30 PM | ESPN |
Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.
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