Brandon Marshall (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Broncos fans, get your vote on. The polls on NFL.com will close at the end of tonight’s Monday Night Football game. At last inventory, these Broncos were on the cusp — be sure they get in!

• WR Brandon Marshall
• OT Ryan Clady
• QB Kyle Orton
• OLB Elvis Dumervil
• ILB D.J. Williams
• S Brian Dawkins
• CB Champ Bailey
• K Matt Prater

Only Bailey leads the AFC in any category.  Vote!

Denver Broncos' Mario Haggan hits Oakland Raiders quarterback Charlie Frye in the first quarter of an NFL football game in Denver on Sunday, Dec. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Chris Schneider)

Congratulations are in order for the 2009 San Diego Chargers, winners of the AFC West for an NFL-best fourth straight season following the Denver Broncos‘ 19-20 loss to the Oakland Raiders Sunday. The Chargers have won nine straight games and their last 17 in December in what is the most impressive season of Norv Turner‘s career.

/Dry heaves

Now that that’s out of the way, the Broncos can focus on the AFC Wild Card race.

The good news? The Broncos control their own destiny. At 8-6, two wins will guarantee them the 6th seed in the playoffs, and higher if Baltimore stumbles.

The bad news? The margin for error is slimmer than ever. Six teams sit at 7-7, waiting for the Broncos to stumble and tie up the standings days before the postseason begins.

It’s quite simple for Denver: Win and you’re in. Two games, that is. One win probably won’t be enough.

In other words, for the Broncos, the playoffs have already begun. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

• A collaboration of mistakes led to Oakland’s victory in Denver.  [CS Gazette]
• Red zone woes came back to bite the Broncos in this game.  [Longmont Times-Call]
• Wesley Woodyard admits to allowing that 4th and 10 conversion to tight end Tony Stewart.  [Denver Post]
• Moreno wasn’t solely to blame, Tony Carter earned his stripes, and David Bruton got the start.  [CS Gazette]
• Great article:  Brandon Marshall goes from malcontent to magnificent.  [SI.com]

• Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Brandon Marshall #15 of the Denver Broncos wears a jersey bearing the name Henry prior to the start of the game against the Oakland Raiders at Invesco Field at Mile High on December 20, 2009 in Denver, Colorado. Chris Henry of the Cincinnati Bengals passed away Thursday. (Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Friends from their days playing against each other at Central Florida and West Virginia, Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall decided to pay tribute to fallen Cincinatti Bengals WR Chris Henry with a small gesture before Sunday’s game.

Marshall changed the nameplate on his #15 jersey to display Henry’s name during pregame warmups. Henry, who died Thursday, wore #15 for the Bengals. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Postgame quotes from the coaches and players following the Denver Broncos‘ 19-20 loss to the Oakland Raiders Sunday.

DENVER BRONCOS HEAD COACH JOSH MCDANIELS

Denver Broncos rookie running back Knowshon Moreno (27) runs with the ball around the corner as Oakland Raiders defensive tackle Tommy Kelly (93) defends in the third quarter of an NFL football game in Denver on Sunday, Dec. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

General

“I give the Raiders credit. We knew coming in, it would be a good, tough-fought hard division game, similar to the first one. They certainly did more than we did at the line of scrimmage. They took advantage of the opportunities down low in the red zone, we struggled to do that. Any time you have to kick field goals in a game it’s going to be close, it’s going to be costly in the end. They made a few more plays than we did and I give the coach credit. And their staff, they did a nice job and had a good game plan and I give them credit, we have to go back to work.”

On the Raiders running game Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Quarterback JaMarcus Russell #2 celebrates following the Oakland Raiders' victory over the Denver Broncos at Invesco Field at Mile High on December 20, 2009 in Denver, Colorado. The Raiders defeated the Broncos 20-19. (Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

For whatever reason, Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell‘s best games come in the least likely of places: the home stadium of his fiercest rival.

Russell, supplanted on the depth chart this week for the second time in as many months, came off the bench after Charlie Frye was injured to execute a 62-yard fourth-quarter drive capped by a 10-yard touchdown strike to WR Chaz Schilens. Sebastian Janikowski‘s extra point attempt sailed through the uprights, and the Raiders held on to beat the Denver Broncos 20-19.

Russell has had success in Denver before: he and the Raiders put a 31-10 bruising on the Broncos in November of last year. The third-year quarterback threw one touchdown and no interceptions then, and he he threw for the same this week.

His career has been mired and ridiculed outside of Denver, and rightfully so, but 2007’s top overall draft pick continues to play his best football in Denver.

But the Raiders didn’t win off Russell’s arm, or anyone’s for that matter. They won the game on the ground. Russell’s wild comeback simply finished what was a wild football game from opening kickoff. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

@
Raiders (4-9) @ Broncos (8-5)
Sunday, December 20, 2009
INVESCO Field at Mile High
2:05 p.m. MT
GameBlog starts at 1:45 p.m.

The Denver Broncos (8-5) and Oakland Raiders (4-9) face off for the 99th time in the regular season on Sunday at INVESCO Field at Mile High. Kickoff is set for 2:05 p.m. MST, and the game will be televised on CBS with Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker calling the action.

The GameBlog
The rules: Keep it clean and be respectful.

More GameBlog
Follow us on twitter at @BroncoTalk for thoughts throughout the game!

Warmup YouTube
I’d say that’s been well-covered already…

Inactives
Oakland: TBA
Denver: TBA

Weather: Very mild for a December game in Denver. Sunny, 51°, light winds.

You know what day it is.  The air seems to be a little timid for playing our number one rival.  I don’t care how much we hate the Chargers now, you always hate the Raiders first and foremost.  With that said, a little pre-game inspiration.

Injury Report for the Week 15 NFL game between the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders on Sunday, December 20, 2009.

DNP – Did Not Participate; LP – Limited Participation; FP – Full Participation; NL – Not Listed

Changes in practice status from Thursday’s injury report in bold. Raiders report after the jump. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

• Mike Shanahan appears to be headed to the Redskins after the departure of Vinny Ceratto.  [Denver Post]
• Sources confirming that Mike to DC is most likely going to happen.  [Denver Post]
• There is a buzz building around the probable hiring of Shanny in Washington.  [Boulder Daily Camera]
• We mentioned it yesterday on Twitter, but Kim at Predominantly Orange dug up a stirring photograph featuring Chris Henry and Darrent Williams.  [Predominantly Orange]
• The Broncos-Raiders rivalry is still alive and kicking.  [Denver Post] [CS Gazette]
• Will Brandon Marshall be one of the leagues best or turn it off at times?  [Broncos Zone]
• Al Davis‘ recent decisions do not match his storied past.  [Denver Post]
• A look at Eddie Royal’s quickly emerging entreprenurial side.  [denverbroncos.com]
• Krieger says that Kyle Orton is a winner, but not a keeper for this team.  [Denver Post]

Click here to read the rest of this entry »