NFL Football XBOX 360 Simulation – Broncos vs. Raiders

Week 1 of NFL betting concludes Monday night when a pair of AFC West rivals collide on ESPN’s Monday Night Football telecast when the Denver Broncos (0-0 SU & ATS) travel to McAfee Coliseum to take on the Oakland Raiders (0-0 SU & ATS). Kickoff is set for 10:15 PM ET. The Raiders went 1-1 SU and 2-0 ATS versus their hated rivals last season losing narrowly at Denver in OT, 23-20, as 10-point underdogs, and won 34-20 as three-point home underdogs in Week 13.

1st Quarter:

The Raiders won the toss and elected to defer to the second half. Denver picked up a couple of first downs, but the drive stalled at midfield when QB Jay Cutler was sacked. Oakland picked up a first down on its first drive, but were then forced to punt. The clubs alternated possessions with neither offenses gaining much ground throughout the rest of the quarter. The score was tied at zeros after the first 15 minutes of play. DENVER 0 OAKLAND 0

2nd Quarter:

NFL bettors that took a position on the under are ecstatic heading into the 2nd quarter. Oakland QB JaMarcus Russell showed off his power arm on the Raiders next drive, which ultimately allowed K Sebastian Janikowski to pick up the first points of the contest after he nailed a 51-yarder.

Denver did absolutely nothing on its next drive, but the defense stepped up big to avoid going down 10 after S Hamza Abdullah hauled in an errant pass to earn his first career interception.

Neither team did anything on their next two possessions, but lightning struck right after the two-minute warning when LB Robert Thomas pick-sixed Cutler to give the Raiders a comfy 10-0 lead at the break. DENVER 0 OAKLAND 10

3rd Quarter:

This football betting affair has been very one-sided thus far, but Oakland bettors know better than to think this ones over. That said; Oakland charged down the field after starting off at its own 31 to start the second half. RB Justin Fargas got them to midfield, and WR Ronald Curry hauled in a 21-yard pass to set Janikowski up for a 43-yarder; which he nailed.

Denver’s offense went three and out on its next three possessions, while the defense forced Oakland into the same fate. Their deepest penetration of the night came late in the third quarter, but it went for not when Matt Prater’s 47-yard FG attempt sailed wide right. DENVER 0 OAKLAND 13

4TH Quarter:

Oakland had a chance to put the game away on its first drive of the 4th quarter after driving all the way down to Denver’s 5, but the Broncos “D” kept them out of the endzone forcing them to settle for three instead.

With eight minutes left to go in the game, Head Coach Mike Shanahan must have said something to his club on the sidelines because Denver played like a completely different team throughout the rest of the game.

After going 3 and out in six of their previous seven possessions, the Broncos rumbled down the field picking up five first downs en route to their first score of the game. Cutler found WR Eddie Royal for a 10-yard TD strike, and RB Selvin Young powered his way in for the two-point conversion to cut the Raiders lead in half.