RAIDERS VS. BRONCOS
Site: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Kickoff: 1:25p.m.
TV: CBS – Kevin Harlan, Rich Gannon, Melanie Collins
THREE KEYS
1. Can the Raiders finally grab an interception?:
Paxton Lynch is making his first start of the season for the Broncos, so he should be fairly interception-prone, right? Brock Osweiler threw four picks in his three starts before Lynch won the job this week, and Lynch threw one interception in 83 pass attempts last season. “Small sample size. He’s a big athletic guy. Got a strong arm,” Raiders’ head coach Jack Del Rio said of Lynch on Friday. “He’s done some solid things in the tape. There’s just not a large sample size.” The Raiders were the only team in NFL history to go the first seven games of a season without a pick. That streak is now at 10. Oakland has made every quarterback they’ve faced look like a Pro-Bowler this season, but Lynch might be the weakest to oppose the Raiders all year. That doesn’t mean much with a depleted secondary, but maybe Week 12is finally the time for the Raiders to grab their first interception. At this point last season, they owned a plus-10 turnover ratio. Through 11 weeks this year, they’re at minus-nine. 2. Will the Raiders’ run game pick up steam?:
In the previous two matchups between the Raiders and Broncos, Oakland finished with vastly different rushing numbers. Last year at the Coliseum, the Raiders ran 43times for 218yards as Latavius Murray scored three times. This season’s meeting in Denver the Raiders ran for only 24yards on 15carries. Marshawn Lynch ran nine times for only 12yards. Del Rio and offensive coordinator Todd Downing talked this week about getting Lynch the ball more, and his continued effectiveness would prove vital against a Broncos run defense ranking fourth in the league with only 85.5 yards allowed per game. Lynch’s two best games of the season have probably come in Oakland’s last two games. If he can carry that over to Sunday, and the Raiders get something of substance from the rest of the running backs, they’ll be in good shape. 3. Which Amari Cooper will show up?:
In Week 4, Cooper was targeted eight times but caught only two passes for nine yards. The final play of the game, a deep ball from EJ Manuel to Cooper down the left sideline, was intercepted. Cooper later took blame for the pick, saying it was his job to knock the ball down. Cooper had the fewest receiving yards of any receiver who caught a pass that day, a similarly disappointing tone that’s been heard throughout his season. Cooper has eclipsed 30 receiving yards only five times, and he’s been held to single digits three times. If Cooper can turn his garbage-time touchdown last Sunday into a strong start against Denver, I’m sure Derek Carr will have something else to be thankful for this holiday season.