Raiders hosting Broncos looking to snap losing streak

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels is currently an odds-on favorite to win the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award, but two other standouts have surged to leave the No. 2 overall pick little margin for error.

Daniels’ two chasers face off today when Broncos’ quarterback Bo Nix, the No. 12 overall pick, and Raiders’ tight end Brock Bowers, the No. 13 overall pick, meet for the second time this season at 1:05 p.m. today at Allegiant Stadium.

Nix showed flashes of the potential that’s led him to sitting as the reigning AFC Offensive Player of the Week in the first game between the AFC West rivals, a 34-19 Denver win in Week 5.

That started the Raiders’ current six-game losing streak where Bowers has been one of the few — if not only — bright spots.

The University of Georgia product is on pace to break virtually all NFL rookie tight end records with a team-leading 70 catches for 706 yards and three touchdowns.

He had his best game yet in last week’s 34-19 loss at the Dolphins, catching 13 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown. Nix’s statistics line in a 38-6 Broncos’ win over the Falcons last week was even gaudier as the University of Oregon product completed 28 of 33 pass attempts for 307 yards and four touchdowns.

Favorable matchup: Raiders’ reworked offense vs. Broncos’ defense

Las Vegas has been so poor during its slide, which has included losing four of the six games by two touchdowns or more, that it’s difficult to come up with any positives. But much of the downturn has been because of offensive helplessness, and that may be changing. The unit looked noticeably improved against Miami in its first game under new offensive coordinator Scott Turner. The Raiders mostly went blow-for-blow with the Dolphins and were within one score until the final three minutes. Quarterback Gardner Minshew killed a streak of five straight touchdown possessions combined between the two teams with a late interception but otherwise had one of his better games. He threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns, Raider career-highs, on 30-for-43 passing. Divisional opponents like the Broncos can typically just tweak the game plan when they face a team for the second time in a season. It won’t be that easy with the Raiders operating a bit differently under Turner than they did with fired original coordinator Luke Getsy. Las Vegas will have a challenge in navigating injuries to both of its top two running backs — Alexander Mattison (ankle) and Zamir White (quad) — with journeyman Ameer Abdullah now likely the featured back but it’s been the worst rushing team in the NFL regardless.    

Problematic matchup: Raiders’ injury situation vs. Healthier Broncos’ side

Running back somehow isn’t the Raiders’ most beaten-up and concerning position group. It’s cornerback, where all three of the team’s starters are dealing with injuries — Jack Jones (back), Jakorian Bennett (shoulder) and Nate Hobbs (ankle). Nix tore apart an Atlanta secondary missing three of its top four cornerbacks a week ago, and now may get a similar setup against Las Vegas. The Raiders’ starting lineup is  a shell of what the team expected coming into the season, with 12 of 22 first-string spots on the offensive and defensive depth chart different this week mostly because of injury. The Broncos meanwhile have benefitted from injury luck despite having played 11 straight weeks. Their bye isn’t until Week 14, the latest on the NFL schedule this year. Only six active players were on their initial injury report heading into the Raiders’ game, with just one (left guard Ben Powers) not participating in any capacity in practice. The Raiders had eight active players not participating in any capacity in practice with reserve tight end Justin Shorter the lone one among the group who hasn’t started this year.         

Gamebreaker: Edge rusher Maxx Crosby

A clip of Crosby trash-talking Nix at the line of scrimmage early in the Week 5 game went viral, with the edge rusher imploring the rookie to, “speak up,” because his teammates couldn’t hear an audible call. Crosby arguably had his best game of the year that day with his lone two-sack performance on the season, and the Raiders badly needed a repeat in Week 12. Crosby has hardly stood out since that game with his numbers down across the board. He’s still been one of the Raiders’ better players but isn’t as much as threatening to make an All-Pro team this season. It’s a high bar but that’s the expectation for a player on a near $100 million contract. The Raiders will likely be starting a cornerback trio of rookie Decamerion Richardson, longtime practice-squad player Sam Webb and Giants’ training-camp cut Darnay Holmes. That’s a group that won’t be able to stand up in coverage if Nix gets extra time in the pocket. It’s primarily up to Crosby to make sure Nix doesn’t get extra time in the pocket. He’ll need to harass Nix with more words.

THEY SAID IT  

 “It’s on all of us to find ways to win. That’s all we can do. You play for pride. There’s still a lot of football left, a lot to play for in a lot of ways. We’ve just got to keep showing up.”

-Crosby on rallying from the franchise’s longest losing streak since starting 0-10 in 2014

 “Ironically, I didn’t even really hear it when it happened in the game. Obviously, I’ve been sent it a lot and seen the video after but I think that’s just part of his game. I think he’s mastered that and he’s tried to use it to his success. I think it’s important when things like that happen, you just kind of come down and get back to the basics, not necessarily listen to it. Cut out the noise and just go to work.”

-Nix on Crosby’s chirping in the first game and how he’ll handle it going forward

 “This isn’t a ‘break’ season for me. It’s one of the things you’ve just got to swallow. You’ve got to take it and obviously we’ll look back at all the reasons…Nobody feels sorry for us. Nobody feels sorry for me. You’ve got to roll out there with 11 players, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

-Pierce when asked if he ever questions why he can’t catch a break with injuries

 “A lot of faith, a little bit of luck and a lot of purpose. I think purpose keeps people going in life. If you have something, if you have a North Star that keeps you going every single day, it’s easy to keep you moving in the right direction which is forward.”

-Abdullah on what’s kept him in the NFL for 10 years and working towards an opportunity like Sunday may present as a starting running back

Big Number: 0.7%

Nix has a 0.7% interception rate over the last 10 weeks, second-best in the NFL behind Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert. The rookie has thrown just one interception in his last 280 pass attempts. It’s a particularly notable stretch of success considering turnovers were one of the concerns with Nix out of the draft and through training camp. The scares looked well-founded through the first two games of the season where he had four interceptions and no touchdown passes. But he’s calmed down significantly from there and, even with the early anchor weighing down his numbers, Nix is tied for 11th in the NFL with a 1.7% interception rate overall. Minshew, on the other hand, is 33rd out of 37 qualified passers with a 3.4% interception rate. Minshew has nine interceptions in total, three more than Nix despite having started three fewer games. The Raiders sit last in the NFL in turnover margin, at -15, while the Broncos are even with 13 giveaways and 13 takeaways. Las Vegas must win the turnover battle to maximize its chances at an upset against Denver.

Best Bet (7-3): Brock Bowers over 56.5 receiving yards

Yes, the Broncos’ defensive game plan will likely be centered on slowing Bowers. No, it won’t necessarily matter. Not with Turner calling the plays and showing every indication that his intention is to force the ball to the rookie tight end as much as possible. Through one game and two weeks on the job, the former UNLV quarterback is less concerned about spreading the wealth of offensive touches than his predecessor. Even if the Broncos succeed in slowing Bowers to build a lead, this bet still has a strong chance at cashing. That likely game script would result in the Raiders going pass heavy and having no choice but to attack downfield in an attempt to get back into the game. Few players in the NFL have been better at finding open space downfield and then tacking on yards after the catch than Bowers. The rookie has gone over this number in seven of 11 games this season, and his workload is only trending up.