Broncos vs. Saints 2016 live stream: Start time, TV schedule, and how to watch online

Although the Denver Broncos remain in a strong position to make a playoff run, there are a few cracks in the defending Super Bowl champions' armor that got exposed on Sunday Night Football. After a humbling road loss to the Oakland Raiders, the Broncos will try to get back on track against a New Orleans Saints team that's suddenly in the thick of the NFC wild card race.

The Broncos visited the Oakland Raiders in Week 9, and we saw one of the bigger statement wins of the season from Oakland. The Raiders imposed their will on a Broncos defense missing Aqib Talib, racking up 218 rushing yards in a 30-20 win that wasn't even as close as the score indicates. Kapri Bibbs made the final score look somewhat respectable with a 69-yard catch-and-run touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

With that performance, the formula for beating the Broncos' defense is clear -- they can be run on. Denver is 29th in the league in run defense, giving up 128.6 rushing yards per game. They also lost Derek Wolfe to a hairline fracture in his elbow, so the front four will be without a key piece for the near future. Talib is dealing with a back injury that could keep him sidelined until after the Week 11 bye, so that's another hole in the defense that opponents can attack.

This might not be so worrisome if the offense could move the ball, but Trevor Siemian keeps taking steps backward. Siemian had another poor performance Sunday night, completing just 18 of 37 passes for 283 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. The Broncos couldn't get anything going on offense in the first half and only started scoring points once the Raiders put the game beyond doubt. Gary Kubiak isn't making a switch to rookie Paxton Lynch yet, but Siemian's seat keeps getting warmer by the week. The Broncos are still in a playoff spot at 6-3, but they have some real problems they'll need to figure out if they want to keep pace in a tight AFC West race.

Don't look now, but the Saints are 4-4 and looking alive in the NFC playoff picture. New Orleans earned its fourth win in five games with a 41-23 trouncing of the San Francisco 49ers. A week after getting benched for Tim Hightower, Mark Ingram ran all over the 49ers for 158 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. Hightower was no slouch, taking 23 carries for 87 yards and a touchdown himself. Drew Brees threw three touchdown passes to cap off the rout.

The Saints still have a putrid defense (they gave up 398 passing yards to Colin Kaepernick, after all) but Sean Payton seems to have found a working strategy -- run the ball early and often, keep the chains moving, and grind out long drives to keep their defense off the field as much as possible. This is how they beat the Seattle Seahawks in Week 8 and they'll likely keep doing the same here. We just saw last Sunday night what happens when the Broncos face a team committed to running the dang ball, so this should be quite an interesting matchup to watch unfold in the Superdome.