Pick Six: Josh McDaniels focused on the task at hand as he returns to Denver

Nov 18, 2022 at 01:33 PM

Levi Edwards

Digital Team Reporter

1) Back to Mile High

While Josh McDaniels has been back to Mile High on numerous occasions as the Patriots offensive coordinator, this will be his first game as a head coach since serving in that same role for nearly two seasons (2009-10) with the Broncos. Additionally, General Manager Dave Ziegler and Assistant General Manager Champ Kelly will be making their returns to Denver, previously serving as scouts with the team.

"I usually am just focused on the game. Just excited for the opportunity, obviously," McDaniels said on going back to Mile High Stadium. "I know that everybody associates bad memories with places that they've left, if it wasn't necessarily on your terms. But I didn't really look at it that way. They gave me a great opportunity. I was very thankful for that when I got it and still am. I've used it many, many times over to try to improve myself, hopefully, as a coach and as a person.

"There's a lot of people still there that I have a great deal of respect for and admiration, and we'll just try to do the best we can here to compete. But this will not be about me, this will be about our football team trying to win on the road and winning in the division on the road."

2) Jerry Tillery is loading

The Raiders made a big addition earlier this week, claiming former Charger Jerry Tillery off waivers.

The defensive tackle , who was a 2019 first-round pick out of Notre Dame, still has a lot in the tank for the Silver and Black to delve into. Tillery has a career 10.5 sacks in 29 starts for the Los Angeles Chargers. In his first week in Las Vegas, he's already impressed his coaches with his ability to quickly pick up the playbook – and he could be in line for some snaps against the Broncos.

"He's an interesting guy. I mean, what a fun guy to have here," McDaniels said. "But he's worked really hard to catch up. I mean, the system that he was in, the terminology is different, so those kinds of things. There's some barriers there that we got to break down, obviously. But he's working his butt off to be able to try to do that as quickly as possible. We'll give him another day of practice here today, see where we're at after today, and then how big the role could be if he's active on Sunday."

Related Links

3) Another big day in store for Jacobs?

Last time Josh Jacobs played against the Denver Broncos, he set a career high in rushing yards.

The accomplishment is even more impressive considering how successful the Broncos defense has been. They've allowed the least amount of points and the second least amount of yards on the season. Nevertheless, that shouldn't deter the Raiders from once again heavily involving Jacobs, who's currently top five in the league in carries (159), rushing yards (821) and rushing touchdowns (seven). He's also a rushing touchdown away from moving into sole possession for third all-time in franchise career rushing TDs.

"They have a lot of different guys on defense that are playing a lot of different roles," Jacobs said of the Broncos defense. "When they come in with certain personnel, it's different guys in different spots. They're a little more aggressive now and it's definitely a different team."

4) Still best of the rest

Davante Adams' production this season still proves he's one of the best receivers in the league.

After nine games with quarterback Derek Carr, Adams has had no problem adjusting to a new playbook. He's been able to jumpstart the Raiders offense on numerous occasions – leading the team in receiving yards, catches, targets and touchdown grabs. He's also top ten in the NFL in all of those categories, including his eight touchdowns which are tied for the league lead.

In the Silver and Black's last encounter with the Broncos in October, Adams had nine catches for 101 yards.

5) Denver Derek

Derek Carr's recent success in Denver should be highlighted. In his last four games at Empower Field at Mile High, he's completed nearly 71 percent of his passes with a 6:2 touchdown to interception ratio.

Additionally, he's won his past two games in Denver and his last five games against the Broncos overall.

6) Respect from Broncos Head Coach

Broncos Head Coach Nathaniel Hackett had history with the Raiders before arriving to the AFC West. His father Paul was a coach for the Oakland Raiders from 2008-2010. In Paul Hackett's time as a Raider, he ran special projects for the coaching staff and was later the quarterbacks coach.

"I've been on a lot of teams and been around the Raiders awhile," Nathaniel Hackett said earlier this week. "That was a unique family situation. … The Raiders are a great organization. They've been around for a long time."

1 / 50

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jarrett Stidham (3) during practice at Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center.