Broncos at Raiders 9/9/19 - NFL Picks & Predictions

The Denver Broncos visit Oakland Coliseum on Oakland, California to play the Oakland Raiders on Monday Night Football in Week 1 of the NFL regular season. The Broncos finished the 2018 season 6-10. Despite having one of the NFL’s best defenses, the Broncos have suffered from the lack of a quality quarterback to lead the offense. To change that, Joe Flacco was signed during the offseason to start under center for Denver. Phillip Lindsay could be the biggest benefactor of Flacco signing as the running back could see more holes to run through if Flacco is successful passing down field. 

Oakland finished the 2018 season at 4-12, but there are high expectations for the Raiders in 2019. Derek Carr returns at quarterback and Antonio Brown was acquired from Pittsburgh to give Carr the best receiver in football to throw to. Doug Martin returns as the top running back, but expect Josh Jacobs to see action early and he could take over the No. 1 job. The Raiders lost their top defense player Khalil Mack to Chicago before the start of last season, but have made offseason acquisitions to shore that side of the ball. 

Denver’s new quarterback Joe Flacco threw for 2,465 yards, 12 touchdowns and six interceptions last season for Baltimore before being benched in favor of Lamar Jackson. Phillip Lindsay rushed for 1,037 yards and nine touchdowns last season for Denver. The top returning receiver for the Broncos is Emmanuel Sanders who caught 71 passes for 868 yards and four touchdowns.

Last season Derek Carr threw for 4,049 yards, 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The leading rusher returning from 2018 for Oakland is Doug Martin who rushed for 723 yards and four touchdowns. Last season with Pittsburgh Antonio Brown caught 104 passes for 1,297 yards and 15 touchdowns.