NFL schedule Week 9: Who plays on Sunday night?
By Brad Weiss
Week 9 of the NFL regular season has a few divisional matchups, but none is bigger than the one on Sunday Night Football.
In Week 9 of the NFL season, there is a huge matchup between AFC West divisional foes on Sunday Night. The 6-2 Denver Broncos will head to Oakland to take on the 6-2 Raiders, in a battle for supremacy in the division. Both teams have won their last two games, setting the stage for what should be some great football.
The Raiders are led by quarterback Derek Carr, who has established himself as one of the elite passers in the game. The third-year starter is coming off of a career-high 513-yard game, where he threw for four touchdowns against zero interceptions. The tandem of Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree have been dominant in the passing game, leading Oakland to their best start in the last 15 years.
Denver is trying to repeat as Super Bowl Champions, and at the midway point of the season, it looks like they should be in the mix once again. The organization rolled the dice on quarterback Trevor Siemian, who had never thrown a pass in an NFL game prior to this season. Siemian has been a great game manager for the Broncos, who rely on an incredible defense to get the job done each week.
That defense is led by cornerback Aqib Talib, who will miss the game on Sunday with a back injury. Talib was held out of last week’s win against San Diego, and the hope was he would be ready to return to action in time for the Raiders game. Without him in the secondary, it should give Carr a better chance to do some damage in the passing game.
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Oakland has been very good on the road this season, posting a 5-0 record through the first half of the year. However, they are only 1-2 at home, as the Oakland Coliseum has not been friendly for the home team in 2016. Denver is going to be a tall order for the Raiders, but Sunday night should be a classic AFC West contest.