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In a move that shocked the football world, Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach Jon Gruden “resigned” due to offensive emails he sent years ago, and now under interim head coach Rich Bisaccia (below) the 3-2 team – still led by veteran quarterback Derek Carr – must face the divisional rival Broncos who have kept their opponents to just 15 points per game.
Now leading the 3-2 Denver Broncos from under center is journeyman quarterback Teddy Bridgewater who continues to get back his hurling mojo, the seven-year NFL veteran having thrown for 7 touchdowns while completing almost 70 percent of his passes with no interceptions, and now he and wide receiver Courtland Sutton (below) are ready for a breakout season.
These two AFC West rivals have met each other 123 previous times (including 2 postseason games), with the Denver Broncos winning 54 of those games and the Las Vegas Raiders winning 67 of the games, plus they have tied twice.
In the Raiders’ Week 5 loss to the Chicago Bears, Las Vegas had only 71 yards gained on the ground all game, production that will not cut it against this Denver defense who are ranked sixth in the league against the run right now.
The Raiders’ backfield is occupied by some talented running backs including Josh Jacobs, Kenyon Drake, and Peyton Barber, three veterans who should be able to gain serious yardage both on the ground and in the air for Las Vegas.
In both of Jacobs’ first two seasons he posted 1,000+ rushing yards, Drake has averaged 4.4 yards per carry over his six NFL seasons and Barber has 20 rushing touchdowns in his six pro years, so this running backs room has the ability to force Denver’s defense to game plan around them.
Due to injury and roster situations, the Broncos are now quarterback Teddy Bridgewater’s fourth team in the NFL, so he is ready to claim them as his franchise of choice if he can only earn those honors with some more wins and even more great play.
So far this season, Bridgewater has led his team to three wins in five weeks (they had five total victories last season) so he has the potential to redirect the Broncos back to their winning ways, the team not having won a playoff game since the season they won Super Bowl 50 back in 2015.
Bridgewater has completed almost 70 percent of his passes this season for almost 1,200 yards and 7 touchdowns with just one interception so far, so watch for him to take advantage of the Raiders’ lack of coaching leadership and have himself a big day on Sunday.
Without going into the sketchy details, Raiders head coach Jon Gruden was forced to resign in shame from this beloved job and now his job goes to interim head coach Rich Bisaccia who has been coaching at either the college or pro level since 1983.
Last season he was the Raiders’ assistant head coach and special teams coordinator, but now it will be his job to not only lead and game plan and organize his football team’s future, he will also have to lead them through an emotionally difficult week.
It helps that Bisaccia has an established team leader in QB Derek Carr who right now has some top-notch offensive targets (Hunter Renfrow, Henry Ruggs, Darren Waller) plus a top-10 defense to work with, but it could be a rough week for this group so watch for how this unfortunate situation affects their play.
In his fourth NFL season, Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton is proving to be a dependable target for QB Teddy Bridgewater, something the 6’ 4” 216 pound Sutton is used to being in Denver, the only NFL team he’s known.
Sutton has caught 142 career passes for almost 2,300 yards and 11 touchdowns, and so far this season he has been an integral part of the Broncos offense so far with 25 catches for 377 yards and a touchdown of the year.
Last week in the team’s loss to the Steelers, Sutton had seven receptions for 120 yards and a touchdown, his connection with Bridgewater getting tighter, something that should be a critical key to a victory against these tough Raiders this Sunday.
Raiders vs Broncos Information | |
What | Las Vegas Raiders vs Denver Broncos |
Where | Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, CO |
When | Sunday, October 17, 2021; 4:25 PM ET |
How to watch | CBS |
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