Raiders Alone in 1st Place in the AFC West in Big Prime Time Win over Broncos

Welcome in to the full recap of the Raiders' Sunday Night showdown with the Broncos. What's on the line here? 1st place in the AFC West! The Raiders have shown all of America that they are back, beating the Super Bowl champions 20-30 in Oakland.

"The Raiders are not going to run over us," they said. "They won't score against our defense," they said. "The No Fly Zone will shut down your receivers," they said. Well, what happened? Man, this was a great win. I mean every time the Raiders play the Broncos, I get a little more amped up than I should because they are the AFC West team I despise the most. I wasn't there last season to cover Khalil Mack's 5 sack game because I had some finals to study for, but I still made an effort to get my bragging rights on. Here, I'm going full force! Broncos fans have been talking a lot of trash lately before this game on how the Raiders are not going to do this. Not going to do that. But, news flash! They did what they did and punched the Broncos right in the kisser! It was great and satisfying and I'm looking forward to how many excuses some "Dinko-Donko" fans will bring up. But, Raider Nation, do we care? NOPE!

(+)

The running game. I think we can all universally agree that this was the key to beating the Broncos. If the Raiders are able to run the ball, they'll be able to keep the Denver defense honest. Of course, the attention is going to be Latvius Murray's big game. And it was big game for him. 20 carries, 114 yards, 3 one-yard TDs. That's his game. Give him the ball in short yardage situations and he'll do the rest. Although this Tay Train's game, we won't discount the two other rookie running backs. Jalen Richard had 6 carries on 82 yards, he broke off a couple of big runs against the defense. DeAndre Washington had 10 carries for 35 yards, but he had some solid gainers. No need for Carr to risk slinging the ball against the No Fly Zone secondary. The ground game turned it up a notch tonight.

Kelechi Osemele. K.O. You win! He is worth every penny when the Raiders signed him in the offseason! Not only did he bring another big body upfront, but he brings a physicality to this Raiders O-line. Back in 2013 when the Ravens played the Broncos, K.O. just threw down Von Miller like a rag doll. This game, he was absolutely bullying the Broncos' front 4. He makes the left side great and the Raiders were able to exploit that, playing power run football to the left and K.O. was blocking with tenacity and violence. What a beast!

Penalties. Wait, penalties are a positive? What? Well, luckily the Raiders didn't break another record. 23 penalties last week compared to just 8 this week. The Broncos were the ones committing all the penalties and the Raiders did everything to draw those peanlties. They made the Broncos defense, particularly the No Fly Zone so undisciplined.

Special teams. Poor Broncos cannot buy good field position early on. Marquette King was pinning Trevor Siemian and the Broncos' offense deep. It wasn't all just Marquette King. Sebass was booting out. Taiwan Jones, Brynden Trawick, everybody on special teams was making tackles inside the Broncos' 20 yard line and they couldn't get anything as the defense was forcing a lot of quick 3 and outs.

Khalil Mack, 3 tackles, 2 sacks. Round 1 of the 2016 NFL Season between Khalil Mack and Von Miller. Miller might have won the first few rounds, but Mack rallied and won the fight. Mack with one more sack than Miller, but he had more hurries, pressures, and a few disruptions that doesn't show up on the stats sheet. Mack continues to stay hot and I can't imagine what Hell he's going to bring when Mario Edwards and Aldon Smith come back hopefully after the bye. 

(-)

Should've been a complete blowout. Okay, this is not a real negative, but I wanted to see the Raiders make the Broncos throw in the towel early. The Broncos had a couple of lucky breaks. Siemian heaves a lucky throw to Demaryius Thomas when Reggie Nelson was in his grill. And of course, you got that screen to Bibbs in the mid 4th quarter. I'm just asking what in the world? But, oh well, the Raiders still got the win. But, this should've been a beatdown in Oaktown.

MVP

Latavius Murray, 20 carries, 114 rushing yards, 3 rushing TDs, 1 reception, 13 receiving yards

All aboard the Tay Train! He looked like the Latavius Murray of old when he rushed for over 100 yards and 2 TDs in the Thursday Night game against the Chiefs two years ago. Continue to doubt him, but you can't deny his work ethic to get better.

Conclusion

No more calling the Raiders the laughing stock of the NFL. It's time to bury that title. R.I.P. 2003-2015. However, we're not quite out of the tunnel yet. There's still a few more games to go before we talk playoffs and possibly division champions. There's still the Kansas City Chiefs whom the Raiders have yet to beat and like last season, they are hot after the bye week. But, no question this win against the Super Bowl champions in front of a world wide audience leaves no doubt that the Raiders are for real! Now, it's a matter of finishing the season strong. They have the bye week next week to rest up and hopefully, we see the return of Mario Edwards Jr. and Aldon Smith to bolster the defense. So, help is on the way in the final stretch of the season. Let's hope the cards play out. But, it's celebration time Raider Nation! First place in the AFC West! The return to greatness is only beginning. I'll see you guys in two weeks when the Raiders go to Mexico to face the Texans in a Monday Night game.