MNF: Raiders vs Broncos Game Thread

Monday Night Football, Week 16. This will be the final installment of Monday Night Football for the 2018 NFL season. All games in Week 17 will be played on Sunday. If the NFL thought they were saving the best for last when they made the schedule, well, the best laid plans of mice and men ...

Tonight the Denver Broncos head west to take on the Oakland Raiders in Oakland, California in a game only football die-hards and fans of these two teams could love. Jets fans will have a rooting interest in this game, as a Raiders win would bode well for the Jets 2019 draft position.

The 6-8 Denver Broncos are suffering through an uncharacteristic dry spell as a franchise, founded in part on their inability to find a quarterback under general manager John Elway. The Broncos come into this game a veritable font of mediocrity. They are mediocre running the ball and mediocre passing it. They are mediocre stopping the run and they are mediocre stopping the pass. Mediocre at home, mediocre on the road. Mediocre in a house, mediocre with a mouse. Mediocre here and there, mediocre anywhere. You get the picture.

In contrast to the mediocrity of the Broncos, the Oakland Raiders are flat out bad, possibly the worst team in the NFL. Jon Gruden has returned, and laid waste to the franchise, presumably to set up a brighter tomorrow. Gone is the GM. Gone are most of the best players. Gone is any chance of winning on a regular basis. The Raiders come into this game with the worst record in the NFL at 3-11. They have a terrible offense, but not to worry, they compensate with an atrocious defense. This is a team that has managed the all but impossible task of having the fewest passes thrown against them in the NFL somehow result in giving up the most passing touchdowns in the NFL. If nothing else, this Raiders team fails with panache. Somehow this Raiders team has managed wins against a couple of decent teams in the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers this year, and they played the Broncos tough in Denver before losing by a single point, so there is some hope they can get out of their own way long enough to emerge victorious tonight at home.

It’s the Raiders and the Broncos on Christmas Eve. If an NFL game is played and nobody watches, does it really happen? We may find out tonight. Hope for a Raiders victory.

Enjoy the game everybody.