The Broncos-Raiders rivalry dates back to October of 1960, when they met for the first time in a victory for the Broncos. These teams have faced each twice a year since the inception of the AFL, which they were both charter members of.
History of Broncos vs. Raiders Rivalry
Denver was not very competitive until 1973, when they completed their first winning season. The ‘80s and ‘90s were the fiercest decades for this clash after two specific events. The first was when they faced off in the 1977 AFC Championship, in which the Broncos advanced to their first Super Bowl appearance. The other event was when Mike Shanahan was hired as the Broncos’ head coach in 1995 after he had coached the Raiders in the late ‘80s.
Head to Head Analysis of Broncos vs. Raiders
The Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders have played against each other 119 times (including the playoffs), with the Raiders leading the all-time series 64-53-2. They both own significant victories over each other, with the Broncos winning a game in 1962 by a score of 44-7 and the Raiders shutting out the Broncos 51-0 in 1967. There have been six 1-point games in the history of this rivalry, two by the Broncos and four by the Raiders. Oakland owns the longest win streak from when they won 14 in a row from 1965 to 1971. Denver’s longest streak was 8 games from 2011-2015. Mike Shanahan’s significance to this rivalry is because of the complete shift of power between these teams, as the Broncos had lost 13 of the last 15 before Shanahan was hired. He helped the charge to a 21-7 record against the Raiders in his 14 seasons as Denver’s head coach.
A Glance at Postseason Success in Broncos vs. Raiders
Denver and Oakland have faced each other twice in the postseason, with each of them winning once. The 1977 AFC Championship game was won by the Broncos 20-17 and gave them their first Super Bowl appearance, as mentioned earlier. This was a significant matchup because the Raiders had won the Super Bowl the previous year, whereas the Broncos had never qualified for the postseason until this point. The second playoff matchup came in 1994 with the Raiders winning 42-24 just one week after they played in the regular season finale. Oakland rallied from a 30-13 deficit to win 33-30 in OT. Both of these franchises have won 3 Super Bowls, with the Raiders’ coming in 1976, 1980, and 1983 out of their 5 total appearances. The Mile High City got their 3 with back-to-back Championships in 1997 and 1998 and the most recent one in 2015 out of their 8 trips to the big game. Oakland also brought one AFL Championship to The Town in 1967 before the Super Bowl Era and also won the AFC Western Division in 1967, 1968, and 1969. Since the Super Bowl Era, the Broncos have made the playoffs 22 times and the Raiders have gotten into the postseason 17 times.
Broncos vs. Raiders Rivalry Outlook
The Raiders’ most recent season was an interesting one, with them trading away a lot of talent after the pricey hire of Jon Gruden as their new head coach. I think as far as young talent, the Broncos have the advantage with some offensive weapons like RB Phillip Lindsay, RB Royce Freeman, and WR Courtland Sutton. On the Denver defense, they also have 22-year-old linebacker Bradley Chubb, who is a young force. A lot of people are curious as to what steps Jon Gruden will take as he seems content with keeping QB Derek Carr as their guy. They definitely have a lot of moves and adjustments to make, but the Broncos have some positions to work on too. You can’t expect a rivalry with this much history to fizzle out any time in the near future.