The Las Vegas Raiders have lost six games in a row, and they could come into their Week 12 matchup against the Broncos very banged up. Their Wednesday injury report featured eight players with a "DNP" designation, and this could include their top three cornerbacks and top two running backs.
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The Raiders are banged up ahead of Week 12
All of Jack Jones, Nate Hobbs, Jakorian Bennett, Alexander Mattison, and Zamir White did not practice. Also included in this is tight ends Harrison Bryant and Justin Shorter, and center Andre James. The Raiders potentially being out their top three CBs and top two RBs could put them in store for a long day against the Denver Broncos.
The Atlanta Falcons were missing multiple cornerbacks when they played the Broncos in Week 11, and all Bo Nix did was throw for over 300 yards and four touchdowns in the best performance by a QB of the week. Nix has also come a long way in the offense since the teams first met in Week 5, so while this is an away game for Denver, this could also be a game where Nix and the offense take the Raiders defense to the cleaners.
They have fielded one of the worst defenses in the NFL this season, and to me, that is a huge indictment on the head coach when "his side" of the ball is not competent. Raiders HC Antonio Pierce is likely not surviving into the 2025 NFL Season, and I am just not sure why he was hired on in the first place.
Anyway, it'll be interesting to see if these DNP players end up playing on Sunday. The Raiders run game even with Mattison and White has been horrific this season, so to elevate the Broncos chances, the Raiders three CBs not playing would be huge.
Honestly, the best-case scenario here for Denver is that this game gets out of hand by halftime. The Broncos need to keep their foot on the gas until they build a big enough lead to kind of peel back a bit and just get through the game. Now yes, I am not guaranteeing a win by any means, as the Raiders are a scrappy team and Denver has always struggled against them.
Bo Nix could absolutely be in store for a rough game. But when you look at how each team is trending, Denver should be able to take care of business here.
