For the first time in ten seasons the Denver Broncos have swept the Las Vegas Raiders.
The last time that the Denver Broncos beat the Las Vegas Raiders twice in one season was the 2014 season. Not a single Bronco player from that team is currently on the team. In fact only two players from that team are still in the NFL – Von Miller and Brandon McManus.
This also marks the first time that the Broncos have swept the season series with a divisional rival other than the Los Angeles Chargers in a long time. In 2014, the Broncos went 6-0 in the AFC West. Not only was it the last time that they swept the Raiders, it was also the last time that they swept the Kansas City Chiefs. The Broncos swept the Chargers in 2015, but split the series with the other two division opponents that season. The Broncos last swept the Chargers in 2023.
The all-time regular season series with the Raiders still stands at 55-72-2 so the Broncos would have dominate the Raiders for close to a decade to even things up. Even with as dominant as the Chiefs have been, it’s hard to sweep division rivals year-in and year-out since they become so familiar with your tendencies.
With 44 sacks the Broncos now lead the league in sacks, but they have played 12 games to the Vikings 11. The Vikings have 38 sacks in 11 games – 3.5 sacks per game – while 44 in 12 is 3.7 per game. With five games left that puts the Broncos on pace for 62 sacks, which would be a franchise record. On Sunday, Nik Bonitto became the first Bronco since Von Miller and Bradley Chubb did it in 2018 to record double-digit sacks.
The Broncos have fallen to 9th in pressure rate, despite leading the league in sacks. The Bronco defense has been getting pressure on 24.5% of opponent dropbacks. The Broncos are tied for the second most total pressures at 118 with Houston, but the Vikings have 126 in only 11 games.
The Bronco defense has moved into 3rd place as of Monday night at 16.83 ppg allowed.
| Rk | Tm | G | PA | PPGA |
| 1 | Los Angeles Chargers | 10 | 145 | 14.50 |
| 2 | Detroit Lions | 11 | 183 | 16.64 |
| 3 | Denver Broncos | 12 | 202 | 16.83 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 11 | 186 | 16.91 |
| 5 | Minnesota Vikings | 11 | 197 | 17.91 |
| 6 | Philadelphia Eagles | 11 | 199 | 18.09 |
| 7 | Buffalo Bills | 11 | 214 | 19.45 |
| 8 | Chicago Bears | 11 | 217 | 19.73 |
| 9 | Kansas City Chiefs | 11 | 218 | 19.82 |
| 10 | Green Bay Packers | 11 | 223 | 20.27 |
| 11 | Arizona Cardinals | 11 | 236 | 21.45 |
| 12 | Miami Dolphins | 11 | 236 | 21.45 |
| 13 | New York Jets | 11 | 242 | 22.00 |
| 14 | Seattle Seahawks | 11 | 244 | 22.18 |
| 15 | Houston Texans | 12 | 268 | 22.33 |
| 16 | Indianapolis Colts | 12 | 274 | 22.83 |
| 17 | New York Giants | 11 | 252 | 22.91 |
| 18 | Washington Commanders | 12 | 277 | 23.08 |
| 19 | New England Patriots | 12 | 282 | 23.50 |
| 20 | San Francisco 49ers | 11 | 260 | 23.64 |
| 21 | New Orleans Saints | 11 | 260 | 23.64 |
| 22 | Cleveland Browns | 11 | 267 | 24.27 |
| 23 | Baltimore Ravens | 11 | 271 | 24.64 |
| 24 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 11 | 273 | 24.82 |
| 25 | Atlanta Falcons | 11 | 274 | 24.91 |
| 26 | Los Angeles Rams | 11 | 276 | 25.09 |
| 27 | Tennessee Titans | 11 | 290 | 26.36 |
| 28 | Cincinnati Bengals | 11 | 296 | 26.91 |
| 29 | Las Vegas Raiders | 11 | 314 | 28.55 |
| 30 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 11 | 316 | 28.73 |
| 31 | Dallas Cowboys | 11 | 319 | 29.00 |
| 32 | Carolina Panthers | 11 | 340 | 30.91 |
The Chargers would have to allow 39 points to the Ravens on Monday night to fall into second place in ppg allowed. The Broncos are still leading the league in YPP at 4.68 but the Eagles are not a very close second at 4.72. That New Orleans Saints and the Jacksonville Jaguars are the two worst defenses allowing 6.06 and 6.15 YPP respectively. No team in the bottom third in the NFL in YPP has a winning record right now. The Baltimore Ravens (7-4) and Washington Commanders (7-5) are currently 19th and 20th in YPP, but that is not the bottom third.
The AFC only has seven teams with winning records right now while the NFC has 8. Two divisions are really hurting this year – both South divisions. Each only has one team with the winning record. The AFC is currently being led by the Houston Texans who are 7-5 while NFC South is fronted by the 6-5 Falcons.
The Bronco offense is scoring 22.0 ppg and that is tied with the Chargers for 19th. Two teams are currently scoring more than 30 points – the Detroit Lions at 32.7 and the Ravens at 30.4. The Monday night matchup should be interesting with the second highest scoring offense facing the best scoring defense. By the time you read this on Tuesday we will know which leading unit prevailed.
The New York Giants currently have the worst offense in the league scoring 14.8 ppg. Former Bronco QB Drew Lock was passed over for the starting job when the Giants released Daniel Jones. Tommy Devito got the start on Sunday and led the team to a total of seven points. Lock did get in for a few plays completing his one pass for three yards.
The Ravens offense is currently leading the league in YPP with an amazing 7.01! No team has ever finished a season above seven. The San Francisco 49ers are a distant second at 6.3. The Cleveland Browns are the only team in the league average fewer yards per play than the Broncos are allowing. They are only gaining 4.52 yards per play so far this season.