The Denver Broncos still control their own destiny in terms of getting a first-round bye in the NFL playoffs, but they must beat the Oakland Raiders to do so. After losing to the Cincinnati Bengals last week, Denver can no longer win the No. 1 seed in the AFC, but a win over Oakland would give them the No. 2 seed. That game saw Peyton Manning throw four interceptions -- the last returned for a touchdown with under three minutes to go -- in a 37-28 loss at Cincinnati that ended Denver's four-game winning streak.
Raiders vs. Broncos 2014 picks and predictions: Denver favored to earn bye in NFL playoffs
The Broncos look to clinch the AFC’s No. 2 seed and make another deep run through the NFL playoffs.
With a win this week Denver would get the No. 2 seed, which comes with a first-round bye and a home game in the divisional round of the playoffs. If the 11-4 Broncos get shocked at home by the 3-12 Raiders, though, they can still earn the No. 2 seed if the Bengals lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football.
Regardless, Denver is a far superior team to their AFC West rivals, and they should be able to win their home finale against the rebuilding Raiders. Oakland is coming off a shocking 26-24 win over the Buffalo Bills last week, which ended Buffalo's playoff hopes. The Raiders will look to play spoiler for the second week in a row.
Since Week 12, the Raiders are actually 3-2, which is a better record than notable teams like the Eagles (2-3), Saints (2-3), Cardinals (2-3) and 49ers (1-4). Their recent play should have any team that crosses their path on upset alert, but the experts don’t see that happening this week -- everyone and their grandma believes Denver will win this.
On CBS Sports, seven out of the eight on the panel went with the Broncos. At ESPN, all 13 experts picked Denver to win their home finale.
Here at SB Nation, all of our experts are also picking the Broncos.
| Ryan Van Bibber | Stephen White | Joel Thorman | David Fucillo | Danny Kelly | PFT Commenter | Matt Ufford | OddsShark | |
| OAK vs. DEN | DEN | DEN | DEN | DEN | DEN | DEN | DEN | DEN |
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