Raiders Preparing for Pivotal AFC West Matchup on Sunday

There is a three-way tie for second place in the AFC West. The Las Vegas Raiders have a difficult and critical road matchup against the Denver Broncos, as both teams sit at 2-2.

Sep 10, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Members of the Las Vegas Raiders and the Denver Broncos line up in third quarter at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders are coming off a critical home win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

It was a game in which numerous players on both teams missed time due to injuries, but the Raiders were able to persevere  They now travel to Denver for their second divisional in the last few weeks and aim to build.

Like the Raiders, the Broncos are 2-2. Denver started 0-2 and have won two games in a row. Both of their losses were by less than one touchdown. Pierce has emphasized to the team how formidable of a team Denver is. The Raiders will be the Broncos’ first home game in three weeks. The Broncos certainly have Pierce’s attention. 

Broncos coach Sean Payton is in his second season with the Broncos and has done a solid job of making the Broncos a competitive team. Pierce noted while the Broncos do not have many household names, the talented players they do have are making plays of all kind. 

"They're a well-coached team from their coordinator to their position coaches,” Pierce said. “I mean, it doesn't matter about names when you play good team defense. And they're very sound, and obviously, they play a lot of man, you see a lot of pressure from this team. But up front, you see a bunch of guys that are just doing their job. And when opportunity comes, they're making the most of it."

The Raiders have won eight out of the last nine games against the Broncos, including the last eight in a row. Still, Raiders Coach Antonio Pierce believes the past has no implications on how the game will go this Sunday on the road. He noted the Raiders and Broncos have not played this season and the Broncos will still present challenges a Raiders team that is will be without numerous starters for the foreseeable future.

"I don't know about in 2024 we haven't [dominated the Broncos.] We haven't played them yet,” Pierce said. “So, the past is the past. You can't talk about those eight,12, 20 games, whatever many years back. We're talking about this year, the 2024 Raiders and the Broncos, and they're playing really well. They're coming off a two-game winning streak on the road against two good quarterbacks and teams, and it's going to be a challenge for us on the road against that team.”

Pierce and the Raiders will again try to win multiple games in a row. This week’s game against the Broncos is a chance for the Raiders to prove they learned a lesson from their loss to the Carolina Panther and can win multiple games in a row.

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