Burning Questions: Broncos at Raiders

[Miles]

How will Antonio Brown’s absence impact the game?


When the Raiders released Brown on Saturday, it rid the Broncos of perhaps Oakland’s biggest threat.


But it also clouded the Raiders’ plan of attack.


Will Oakland target tight end Darren Waller more than originally planned? Will rookie running back Josh Jacobs pick up more carries? Or will wide receiver Tyrell Williams simply slide into the spot Brown held until earlier this week?


There’s no sure way to tell — and that makes Vic Fangio and Defensive Coordinator Ed Donatell’s job a little harder.


The game will start, though, with stopping the run.


“It’s vital,” Fangio said Saturday. “The back [Jacobs] is really good, [a] first-round pick. He’s a slasher. He’ll cut it back. He can ram it up in there. He’s hard to tackle in the open field. Defending the run is going to be critical.”


Fangio said the team will otherwise approach the game as they have all week.


“It’s just as if he was on the inactive list or suspended list or was hurt,” Fangio said. “We just have to go out there and play their team. They have a good team. They’ve made a lot of revisions to their team with a lot of acquisitions from the draft and free agency. It’s going to be a hell of a test out there for us.”


There will be at least some degree of guessing from the Broncos, though. That’s always the case in the opener, Fangio explained.


“Their offensive coaching staff stayed the same, but they have a lot of new players,” Fangio said. “… There are a lot of guys that you know you’re going to be playing against that aren’t on the tape, so that makes it challenging.”