The Oakland Raiders have won two in a row and appear to be hitting their stride with with one of the better running attacks in the league. Meanwhile, the Denver Broncos have lost seven of their last eight and are reeling toward the finish line of the season. Denver lost its coach Josh McDaniels a couple of weeks ago, so this is a team that has little to play for.
The Raiders have gotten surprisingly good play of late from quarterback Jason Campbell. He is coming off a career-best 324 yards passing against Jacksonville. On the year, he has 10 touchdowns and just six interceptions while sharing time with journeyman Bruce Gradkowski.
But the real power pushing the Oakland offense is its ground game led by Darren McFadden, who is finally having the breakthrough season that has been expected of him. McFadden has 993 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 5.2 yards per carry and he’s also second on the team with 39 receptions. Michael Bush is an able backup who has 475 yards to his credit.
Defensively, the Raiders are led by a stellar secondary that is seventh in the league in pass defense. If Oakland is vulnerable, it is in stopping the run. Denver might be able to get things going in that department.
Very little has gone right for the Broncos this year and they are likely to try a new experiment this week with rookie Heisman winner Tim Tebow looking to get the start. He’s been practicing with the first team all week with Kyle Orton out due to injured ribs.
Tebow is a tough competitor and might give the Raiders some fits with his running ability, but he’ll be hard pressed to do well in the passing game as he’s thrown exactly one pass this season, although he did complete it for a touchdown. &...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
