Denver Broncos face Oakland Raiders in crunch match - NFL Preview
The Denver Broncos will look to avoid losing three games in a row when they face the Oakland Raiders on Sunday at the Sports Authority Field in Denver.
Denver Broncos started off brightly in week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers but their fortunes turned in the next week with two straight defeats.
Quarterback Peyton Manning has struggled with his game in the last two weeks with the Broncos losing to Atlanta Falcons in week 2 followed by another defeat to the Houston Texans.
In both games Manning has struggled with throws.
Against Atlanta the veteran quarterback was intercepted thrice just for the second time in his illustrious career while against the Texans Manning ended up with a career high of 26 interceptions.
The quarterback is also not getting the protection from his offensive line after being sacked eight times three of those coming against the Texans.
Broncos defence on the other hand also has not covered itself in glory in the last two weeks struggling to keep the opposition at bay.
Against the Texans, Denver found itself 20 points behind before Manning launched an unfruitful comeback in the fourth quarter with two touchdowns.
He might find more joy against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday as their AFC West rivals have allowed an average of 264.7 yards per game this year.
Manning speaking to the media said:
"We have to study this tape and study what it is we're doing wrong. Study anything that we are doing well and try to build off that."
Adding further he said:
"We're 1-2 and we've got a big division game coming up against Oakland. Division games count double, so we've got to learn from this last game and improve from it."
However, the Raiders also boast a resurgent offensive unit which will look to take full advantage of the struggling Broncos defence.
Oakland like the Broncos is 1-2 but showed signs of improvement last week as they won their first game this season.
The Raiders started off with two straight defeats but like the Broncos found a way to win against the Pittsburgh Stealers with a brilliant performance helping them to record a 34-31 win.
Quarterback Carson Palmer passed for three touchdowns and 209 yards during the game as the Raiders made an impressive comeback to win the game in the final quarter.
Raiders coach Dennis Allen said:
"We've got it in us to be a mentally tough team and compete and fight and keep going until the very end. That's what you have to do to win consistently in this league and that's what our guys did."
This will be a big test for both sides and both teams have an equal chance of coming out the winners although Denver will have an edge with home advantage.
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