The Denver Broncos leaned heavily on their defense to secure a 10-7 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on November 6 at Empower Field at Mile High. Despite the unattractive nature of the win for Denver, the result propels them to 8-2 and the best record in the NFL heading into Week 10.
Midway through the 2025 NFL season, the Broncos are in the driver’s seat to win the AFC West and possibly be the No. 1 seed in the conference. However, their tendency to grind out wins over struggling teams have some questioning their legitimacy as a contender.
Although it may come off as sour grapes, former Raiders fullback Marcel Reece is one of the doubters who still have questions about the Broncos despite their record.
“When you’re building a really great team, you want to win in every facet and find ways to win,” Reece said on the November 7 edition of the “Up & Adams” show. “But even in those victories, you have to address the problems you’re facing. Right now, the Broncos aren’t necessarily correcting the mistakes they’re making.
“You can see they have the makings of a good team, but at this point, they look like a solid regular-season team. They might even win the division, yet it becomes clear this is a one-and-done team, because in the playoffs, you cannot be one-dimensional. You can’t rely on your defense to bail you out every single time.”
Do the Raiders and Broncos Share a Similar Problem?
Although the Broncos are winning their close games while the Raiders come out on the losing end, Reece believes, like Las Vegas, Denver suffers from a lack of identity on offense that could cost them in the postseason.
“The problem with the Broncos on offense as a whole is that they have no identity,” Reece added. “They don’t yet know what they want to be. Sean Payton has a fantastic offensive mind, one of the best in the history of the game, but he’s still learning this team, this division, and his young quarterback.”
Chip Kelly Under Fire for Raiders Offense
While the Broncos have been able to win without an identity in Reece’s eyes, the same cannot be said about the Raiders, who have racked up losses. The team’s former wide receiver, James Jones, went off on offensive coordinator Chip Kelly after the loss to Denver and continues to harp that Las Vegas have no identity.
“Offensively, we got to do better, ” Jones said on “Raiders Postgame Live. “ “I know I come up here every single week and ask, ‘What’s our identity?’ I don’t know. Chip don’t know neither. That’s the problem. We don’t know if we want to run it, and we don’t know if we want to throw it. What’s our identity?
“… I expected to see more of Brock Bowers. We’ve got a lot of young players out there, and I know Brock’s young, but he’s our superstar. We can’t depend on young players to win primetime games like this. Yes, he got some opportunities, but I’m more concerned about Brock Bowers. How do you go into a game as an offensive coordinator and not find a way to get the ball to him? He’s the best player on the field.”
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