Before Sean Payton arrived, the Denver Broncos had an eight-game losing streak to the Las Vegas Raiders, which was snapped earlier this year when the Broncos beat the Raiders 34-18 at home in Week 5.
After that, Denver still had an eight-game road losing streak against their division rival (four losses in Las Vegas and four losses in Oakland). The Broncos snapped that streak on Sunday with a 29-19 win in Las Vegas.
Denver flipped from always losing to the Raiders to having swept them in 2024, which likely explains in part why Payton was so fired up after the game.
“Listen, when you go someplace and people talk about in a while they haven’t done — even though a lot of these players weren’t here — you exorcize these demons,” Payton said. “Hadn’t beaten the Raiders in how long? I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. We beat them twice this year. We’re focused on the next game. Obviously the division games matter.
“Listen, the appreciation for beating the Raiders. Listen, at a young age, I was fortunate to interview with Al Davis three weekends for the head coaching job. Bought a black suit and a silver tie. But if Jerry Jones is the last person you see, you’re probably staying. I ended up staying [with the Dallas Cowboys] in 2003. Paul Kelley, who was with us, picked me up at the airport in Oakland. It’s a storied franchise, just like we are. That is what makes this division unique. I’m getting to appreciate that.”
Denver is now 2-2 in the AFC West, with both of the team’s division wins coming against Las Vegas.
“It’s huge,” quarterback Bo Nix said of sweeping the Raiders. “It’s what your goal is going into the season. They’re a good football team. We played ’em two tough games. We got two good wins out of it. I know after last year, it was the opposite.
“It was good for us to find a way to win this game, find a way to go in a hostile road environment against a divisional team. They’re fighting every week. They’re a good football team. It was a good win for us. Happy for the guys.”
The Broncos have five games remaining this season, including division games against the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs. The upcoming stretch of games will determine Denver’s playoff fate.
