Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos are set to take on Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens to open their respective seasons on Sunday. They're two of the established teams in the AFC, with the former dominating the regular season but falling short in the playoffs and the latter only a couple years removed from a Super Bowl victory.
Ravens vs. Broncos 2015 live stream: Start time, TV schedule and how to watch online
Can Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens pick up a big win early over Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos?
Despite all of the aforementioned regular season success, Manning and the Broncos just haven’t been able to get the job done in the postseason. They’re one of the most dominant teams in the league in the regular season, with Manning putting up ridiculous numbers on a weekly basis, but the team made some big changes this offseason after yet another failed Super Bowl bid.
The biggest change: Gary Kubiak is now in charge as head coach, and the Ravens are fairly familiar with him, given that he was the team's offensive coordinator last season. Then again, suggesting that a Manning-led offense can be figured out simply by identifying its coach's tendencies is probably farcical given just how good Manning has been.
What the Broncos will try to do differently on offense under Kubiak is run the football. C.J. Anderson put up 1,173 total yards and 10 touchdowns last season, and he's going to be the feature back in an offense that will certainly rely on Manning to put points on the board, but which will try and be more balanced overall.
Obviously, the Ravens know what they need to do on the defensive side of the ball. They have to get to Manning -- who is 39 years old and surely will slow down at some point this season -- and they have to do their best to keep Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders from doing what it is they do best: catch Manning bombs for ridiculous yardage.
Baltimore recorded just 11 interceptions a season ago, but Jimmy Smith is 100 percent healthy and guys like Kyle Arrington and Kendrick Lewis were brought in to shore things up. You shouldn't bet on those guys shutting Manning down entirely, but they won't have to if Flacco hits the ground running.
Flacco is without one of his top targets from last season in Torrey Smith, however. He joined the San Francisco 49ers in free agency, and the team drafted Breshad Perriman in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft to replace him. Unfortunately, Perriman missed the entire preseason with a knee injury and will also miss the opener.
Justin Forsett might be the X-factor on the offensive side of the ball for the Ravens. Forsett had a breakout season last year, carrying the ball 235 times for 1,266 yards (good for fifth in the league) and eight touchdowns. That's 5.4 yards per carry, and he added another 263 yards through the air.
The Ravens will probably run early and often against a Broncos defense that looks ready to rush the passer more often than not on Sunday. If Forsett can get outside and take advantage of the Broncos over-committing, he could be in line for a big day.
How to Watch
When: 4:25 p.m. ET
Where: Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver, Colo.
TV: CBS
Announcers: Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, Tracy Wolfson
Online: Verizon NFL Mobile
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