Raiders vs Broncos Picks & Predictions for Week 5: Denver Leans On its D

The Raiders have gotten the best of this matchup, but with their injuries mounting against an elite defense, that trend's about to come to a screeching halt.

Jeremy Jones - Betting Analyst at Covers
Jeremy Jones • Betting Analyst
Oct 5, 2024 • 14:08 ET • 4 min read

NFL

Match starts: 22 hrs
DEN
66 %
LV
34 %
Read Analysis
Denver Broncos NFL
Photo By - USA TODAY Sports

An AFC West rivalry renews on Sunday when the Las Vegas Raiders travel to the Mile High City to take on the Denver Broncos.

Both teams are 2-2 and will be looking to kick-start a winning streak with a big divisional win. My Raiders vs. Broncos prediction believes the tides will turn in this recently one-sided rivalry. 

Find out why I am projecting a Broncos win in my NFL picks for Sunday, October 6.

Raiders vs Broncos prediction

My best bet
Broncos -3 (-105 at BetMGM)

My analysis

The Las Vegas Raiders have won nine of the last 10 matchups in this divisional rivalry and eight straight. However, the Denver Broncos are ready to buck that trend, and it’s all thanks to their defense. They’ve only allowed 13.8 points per game, which ranks third in the NFL behind only the Los Angeles Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers. 

The Broncos have won consecutive games in upsets over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Jets on the road. They kept both of those offenses, which have plenty of firepower, below 10 points. They also held Seattle to a season-low 304 yards of total offense in a Week 1 loss. 

Now they’re facing a Raiders offense that ranks 20th in scoring and 24th in total offense. A good comparison for this game is when the Raiders went to Los Angeles in Week 1 to face the Chargers. They were only able to muster up 10 points and 296 yards of total offense. 

I would expect a similar struggle for the Raiders offense against this vaunted Broncos defense. The Raiders are going to be without their best wide receiver, Davante Adams, and their starting running back, Zamir White. They could also be without their best defensive player, Maxx Crosby, who missed last week with an ankle injury. 

The Broncos offense hasn’t been great, but has been improving for rookie quarterback Bo Nix since Week 1. He’s starting to play smarter and limit his mistakes, and that’s what this stellar defense needs. The Broncos will be able to win this game regardless of what their offense provides them because of their huge mismatch on the defensive side of the ball. 

Raiders vs Broncos same-game parlay

Broncos -3

Under 36

Gardner Minshew Under 187.5 pass yards

The reason for liking the Broncos to cover in this game is very similar to the reason for liking the Under in this matchup. The Denver defense is going to shut down the Raiders offense and the Broncos offense isn’t going to light up the scoreboard themselves — they rank 28th in points per game this season. 

Finally, I will be looking at a player prop Under for the Raiders offense. The Broncos rank third in the NFL in passing yards allowed and held three of the four quarterbacks they’ve faced to Under 200 yards. The one that did surpass 200 was Aaron Rodgers, and he only had 225. To boot, Gardner Minshew had only 130 passing yards last week against Cleveland without Adams.

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

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Raiders vs Broncos odds

Raiders vs Broncos live odds

Raiders vs Broncos opening odds

  • Spread: Las Vegas +1.5 | Denver -1.5
  • Moneyline: Las Vegas +122 | Denver -137
  • Over/Under: Over 37 | Under 37

Raiders vs Broncos spread and Over/Under analysis

  • The spread opened at Denver -1.5 but has climbed up to -3 as of Saturday morning.

  • The Raiders have both won straight up and covered the spread in nine of the last 10 matchups between these two teams.

  • The total opened at 42 preseason and re-opened at 37 this week before falling to 36 as of Saturday morning.

  • Five of the eight games these two teams have played this season have gone Under the total.

Raiders vs Broncos betting trend to know

The Raiders have only hit the team total Over in seven of their last 17 games. Find more NFL betting trends for Raiders vs. Broncos.

Raiders vs Broncos game info

Location: Empower Field at Mile High, Denver, CO
Date: Sunday, 10-6-2024
Kickoff: 4:05 p.m. ET
TV: FOX

Raiders vs Broncos latest injuries

Raiders vs Broncos weather

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Jeremy Jones - Covers
Betting Analyst

Jeremy Jones was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky and has been a massive Wildcats fans since the moment he came into the world. He wrote his first sports article at the tender age of 11 after attending a local AHL hockey game, and a few years later was writing professionally for sites such as Sports Rants, BetAmerica, and TwinSpires.

Jeremy holds a Masters in Sports Administration from Eastern Kentucky University and utilizes all seven betting options available in Kentucky to shop for odds and promos and find the greatest EV in every wager he places.

His best piece of sports betting advice is to stick to consistent unit sizes for every wager. He acknowledges there will occasionally be a bet that has a huge EV and you can play multiple units in one bet, but cautions against raising your unit size, because you can quickly lose all your winnings if you hit a minor cold streak.

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