The rivalry is set to be renewed.
As the Broncos (7-2) host their second home prime-time game of the season, they'll battle the Las Vegas Raiders (2-6) in hopes of evening their division record and pushing their home winning streak to double-digits.
"These are the fun ones," quarterback Bo Nix said Tuesday. "It's like playing a conference game in college. These are the ones you look forward to. These are why you're a Bronco, to beat teams like this. Just like all the other ones, it's not going to be easy. We're going to have to play really well. It will be a fun 'Thursday Night Football' environment."
The Broncos snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Raiders in 2024 as they swept the divisional foe, and they'll aim to earn their longest win streak over the Raiders since the team won eight consecutive games from 2011-15.
Denver enters "Thursday Night Football" atop the AFC West, and the Broncos will look to keep pace in a competitive AFC race with a win.
In the final eight weeks, Denver will play five division matchups. These are the questions that will determine if the Broncos can kick off that stretch with a victory.
CAN THE BRONCOS SLOW BROCK BOWERS?
The Raiders regained one of the top weapons in the NFL in Week 9, as tight end Brock Bowers returned from a three-game absence. After earning first-team All-Pro honors as a rookie, Bowers has battled injuries in his second season, but he nearly helped the Raiders to a comeback win against the Jaguars. In his return, Bowers caught 12 passes for 127 yards and three receiving touchdowns.
Bowers' return provided a key weapon for Raiders quarterback Geno Smith. From Weeks 1-7, Smith completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 202.4 yards per game, seven touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a 77.1 passer rating. With Bowers in Week 9, Smith completed 74.4 percent of his passes for 284 yards, four touchdowns, an interception and a 117.9 passer rating.
A year ago, the then-rookie tight end led all receivers in the Broncos' Week 5 win with eight catches for 97 yards, including a 57-yard touchdown to open the game. In the second meeting, Denver limited Bowers to four catches for 38 yards as Pat Surtain II covered the talented player. With Surtain out, the Broncos will look for other ways to slow Bowers.
"He is special," Joseph said. "Obviously, last year, the first game we played him, he kind of hurt us a little bit on a couple of big plays. The second time we played against him, we put Patrick on him. I mean, he's that kind of a player. Watching this year, his healthiest and best game was last week, unfortunately for us. He had a big game again. He has the size and the speed of an NFL receiver but the size of a tight end. So the toughest job with him is getting him tackled. You can kind of cover him with a safety or a defensive back body, but can you get him on the ground after he catches the ball? He made four or five big plays last week, with just catching a 10-yard spot route, and the [yards after catch] is major. So, having a great plan to kind of get him rerouted early and just keep the coverage top down on him is going to be important to win the game."
The Raiders will be without wide receiver Jakobi Meyers — whom Las Vegas traded to the Jaguars on Tuesday — which may make Bowers an even more important factor on Thursday night. If Denver can slow the talented tight end, it could be key to earning a win.
WHICH ROOKIE RUNNING BACK WILL MAKE A BIGGER IMPACT?
Rookie RJ Harvey continues to find the end zone.
The second-round pick earned another key touchdown in Week 9 against the Texans, and his five scrimmage touchdowns are second only to NFL rushing leader Jonathan Taylor since Week 7. Harvey is tied for the second-most scrimmage touchdowns by a rookie this season, and he seems to be finding his stride.
"RJ's been special, man," wide receiver Courtland Sutton said Tuesday. "It's been a lot of fun watching him go out there and perform."
While Harvey leads the Broncos in scrimmage touchdowns, veteran J.K. Dobbins has paced the team in rushing yards. Dobbins ranks fifth in the NFL with 695 rushing yards, and he has posted at least 60 yards in eight of Denver's nine games. The latter output is tied with Taylor for the most such games in the NFL. He also has a history of success against the Raiders, as he combined for 198 yards and a touchdown in two games vs. the Raiders while with Los Angeles.
Together, Harvey and Dobbins have helped the Broncos post a top-10 rushing attack.
"We're just starting to see, right in front of our eyes, a guy that we felt strongly about," Payton said of Harvey. "He can go. And he and Dobbins, that one-two combination is nice to have as a coach."
On the Raiders' side, sixth-overall pick Ashton Jeanty is the first rookie with at least three rushing touchdowns and three receiving touchdowns in his first eight games since Hall of Famer Marcus Allen posted that stat line in an Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign. Jeanty could be a test for Denver's eighth-ranked rushing defense, as he has posted the third-most missed tackles (42) of any rusher. He also has recorded the fourth-most rushing yards after being hit at the line of scrimmage, gaining 123 yards in those scenarios. Jeanty, though, has also been tackled for no gain or a loss on 38 of his carries, which is the most in the NFL.
If the Broncos can hold Jeanty in check and get Harvey — and Dobbins — going, it could help push Denver to a win.
CAN DENVER MINIMIZE MAXX CROSBY'S IMPACT?
Few defenders are more dangerous than four-time Pro Bowler Maxx Crosby, and he's seemingly at his best against the Broncos.
Crosby's 15.5 sacks against the Broncos are the second-most by any player against a single opponent since Crosby entered the league in 2019, and the total is also the third-highest of any player against the Broncos since at least 1982. The two-time second-team All-Pro has nine more sacks against Denver than he does against any other opponent.
"He is a phenom," Offensive Coordinator Joe Lombardi said Tuesday. "Obviously, he has a ton of ability. He's so disruptive, but it's the motor that really stands out. … Just every single play, it's all out. You can't help but just get distracted by him every play. You just watch, and there he is again, just causing disruption. [He is] just tough, great stamina — and just a motor that every single play is a hundred percent. There are a lot of guys that are dangerous, and sometimes they might pick and choose their spots — and he picks every single spot. It's a problem. He eliminates a lot of things you want to do because of how disruptive he is. Not a guy I wish we had to see twice a year, for sure."
This iteration of the Broncos, though, may be poised to limit Crosby's impact. The veteran player had a pair of sacks in the teams' first meeting last year, but the Broncos held him without a sack in the second meeting. That game marked just the second time in Crosby's 12 career meetings with the Broncos that he was held without a sack, and he had posted 10 consecutive games in the series with a sack.
On Thursday night, the Broncos will aim to add another one of those showings to the ledger. Through nine games, Nix has been sacked just nine times — and the Broncos have allowed 16 sacks over the last 16 games. The last time the Broncos allowed so few sacks in a 16-game stretch came from 2013-14, and Denver made a Super Bowl appearance during that time frame.
While Nix's mobility is undoubtedly helpful in avoiding pressure, the Broncos also have three linemen who rank in the top 10 in lowest pressure rate allowed at their respective positions. Left tackle Garett Bolles and right guard Quinn Meinerz have allowed pressure rates of just 4.9 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively, which each rank first in the league among players at their positions with at least 200 snaps. Right tackle Mike McGlinchey's 7.0 percent pressure rate is eighth lowest in the league.
If Denver can keep Crosby away from Nix and give the quarterback time to throw, the Broncos' offense could look to match its recent offensive success at Empower Field at Mile High.
