Broncos and Raiders are battling to get back on track in Week 4

A week ago, the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders were riding high after 2-0 starts to begin the season. Now their meeting Sunday is between two teams looking to avoid back-to-back losses that would be a huge setback in the NFL’s most competitive division.

Traveling across two time zones in never easy, but last Sunday the Broncos were still road favorites against the Bills — a team that managed just three points against the Carolina Panthers in Week 2. Oakland was also favored at Washington.

Playing the Broncos’ defense was supposed to slow Buffalo to a crawl. And the efficient start to the season by Trevor Siemian made Denver look as dangerous as ever. But the 26-16 loss in Buffalo put a damper on the early dominance the Broncos showed.

Even still, Denver isn’t going to be easy for any team to beat.

Figuring out Oakland is a little more difficult. In the first three seasons of Derek Carr’s career, the Raiders are 2-16 against teams that went on to make the playoffs. Against Washington, the Raiders were outgained 476 yards to 128.

Both the Broncos and Raiders are looking to get back on track. But Denver has fewer problems to correct before hosting the Raiders in Week 4..

1. The Bills took away the run

Denver managed to gain more yards on the ground against the Bills than Buffalo’s previous opponents, the Jets and Panthers. While New York and Carolina combined for 115 yards, the Broncos nearly matched it with 111.

But 32 of C.J. Anderson’s 36 yards came on one run, and the 56 yards for Jamaal Charles were bolstered by three runs of more than 10 yards. For much of the day Denver’s rushing attempts were stuffed for minimal or no yardage.

The Broncos had much more rushing success against the Chargers and Cowboys, tallying 318 yards in the first two weeks with Anderson leading the way.

Denver’s lack of consistent yardage in Week 3 forced the offense into third-and-long situations that were difficult for Siemian to convert.

2. Trevor Siemian was terrible when forced out of the pocket

If there’s a lesson to be learned for Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy from Week 3, it’s to do whatever possible to make sure Siemian isn’t asked to throw on the move. Both of his interceptions were the result of poor accuracy while on the move, and the final pass of the game for Siemian came up way short as he was rolling left.

On Siemian’s first interception of the game, he tried to reset his feet, but was still off balance and falling backward when he made the throw.

Siemian made his 17th start last week and has made strides from last year, but he’s not a finished product. There’s still growing pains the Broncos are just going to have to live with.

3. Tyrod Taylor flat out balled, at times

But the biggest reason the Broncos shouldn’t be too concerned is that there just aren’t many quarterbacks in the NFL who are going to make the plays that Tyrod Taylor did last Sunday.

He was difficult to corral for the Denver defense and delivered some seriously impressive throws on his 20-of-26 passing day. One touchdown drive for the Bills took just four plays, thanks to three impressive plays by Taylor.

The Broncos’ defense is still a nightmare to face. Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott found that out in Week 2 and even after Taylor’s big day, the Bills still didn’t total 300 yards of offense.

Sometimes you just have to tip your hat to a player who made plays.

1. The Raiders’ offense was dominated in the trenches

There was no room for Marshawn Lynch on Sunday night, and the usually excellent Raiders offensive line gave up four sacks. Carr was pressured on 11 of his 32 dropbacks after getting pressured on just nine of 63 dropbacks in the first two weeks with two sacks.

Much of that is a testament to an underrated Washington pass rush featuring Ryan Kerrigan and Preston Smith. But it was an uncharacteristically bad night for the Raiders up front, and that could be bad news if a similar performance came against a team like the Broncos, who are on the schedule twice.

2. Derek Carr couldn’t complete passes downfield

Despite 31 attempts, Carr completed just 1 of 8 attempts more than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage.

Through three games, Carr has attempted six passes at least 20 yards downfield and completed just two.

He was hurt by dropped passes too — a problem Amari Cooper, in particular, is having — so it isn’t all Carr’s fault. But no matter who’s to blame, the Raiders’ offense needs deep passing or the running game will be even more difficult to establish.

3. The Raiders are struggling against the pass

Kirk Cousins diced up the Raiders’ secondary with 25 completions out of 30 attempts for 365 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. So far, the secondary has yet to produce an interception and has given up a collective passer rating of 113.0 to Cousins, Josh McCown and Marcus Mariota.

Each of Oakland’s cornerbacks has given up a passer rating of at least 95.0.

Injuries to Conley and Smith may have contributed to the slow start, but the unit looks like a liability that the Raiders will have to deal with in the remainder of the season.

The Raiders and Broncos are on equal footing again after losses in Week 3, but Oakland showed more red flags. The Kansas City Chiefs are still the team in the best shape in the AFC West, but the Broncos look like the bigger threat to make up ground.

A Week 4 meeting of the Raiders and Broncos will answer questions, but for now Denver has fewer reasons to be concerned.