‘Challenges? Bring Them On!’: Team Vows to Fight with Everything They’ve Got
The Las Vegas Raiders are unlikely to make the playoffs with a 2-6 record so far this 2025 NFL season. However, that doesn’t mean the season is lost. The Silver and Black still have a chance to focus on developing their young talent and could play spoiler down the stretch, beginning with their game against the Denver Broncos on November 6.
Still, earning a win over their AFC West rival won’t come easily for Las Vegas. The Raiders’ offense could be fighting uphill all night against a relentless Broncos pass rush. Denver tops the NFL with 40 team sacks, meaning veteran quarterback Geno Smith will likely face heavy pressure throughout the game.
Despite the Broncos being the better squad, with their 7-2 record, former Denver cornerback Aqib Talib is warning his former team not to take the Raiders lightly, considering that when it comes to division games, the records are out the window.
“It’s almost a trap game,” Talib said on the latest episode of “No Lie Zone.” “You could overlook them. They’re a bad team; [a] 2-6 team coming, but it’s still Pete Carroll, and it’s still a rivalry game. It’s still the Raiders. They [are] always going to come play you tough no matter what.
“First, we got to handle that business. That’s going to be on a short week. That’s going to be a dog fight. We’re going to have to win that s— in the fourth quarter. I don’t care what their record is.”
Raiders Are Also Being Warned About Broncos’ Pass Rush
Denver aren’t the only team receiving a warning ahead of the divisional matchup on “Thursday Night Football.” In the November 4 edition of “Upon Further Review,”
“When you have a pass rush that can get after the quarterback, that’s letting the defensive backs know that, hey man, the quarterback got two seconds to throw this ball, which means we don’t
“And that’s very, very dangerous because when you’re game planning for a pass rush like this, you can’t have too many seven-step, five-step dropbacks. The ball has to come out of the quarterback’s hands fast. You got to establish a run game.”
Raiders’ Potential Strategy to Beat Broncos’ Pass Rush
Although it’s easier said than done, there are strategies to counter the Broncos’ pass rush, which helps explain their two losses so far. Additionally, Denver has only narrowly beaten the Houston Texans, New York Jets, and New York Giants, showing that it’s possible to create tough matchups against them.
“It’s going to be key that the Raiders stay ahead of the sticks,” Jones added. “And what I mean by that is we got to stay in third-and-three, third-and-four. We cannot be in third-and-10 and third-and-nine and let this pass rush pin their ears back and get after Geno Smith, because whatever we think about our offensive line, this defensive line has done it to every offensive line that they’ve played this year.
“They are a really good front seven. So, we are going to have to make sure that we have a plan to not only protect but to get this ball out of Geno Smith’s hands fast.”
Browns Give Emphatic Answer on Critical Dillon Gabriel Flaw
On Wednesday at Browns practice there was, no question, a reporter on hand who had an agenda–asking everyone in the orange-and-brown just how it is playing with a quarterback who is undersize. And coming out of college, that was the big flaw most scouts latched onto when it comes to Dillon Gabriel–he is just 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds and a wingspan of 73 inches.
Here’s what Pro Football Focus wrote coming out of the Combine last spring: “Gabriel’s measurables — height, weight, wingspan, hand size, etc. — are all in the 35th percentile or lower among quarterbacks. That’s quite a barrier to developing into a successful NFL signal-caller. He’ll be at a significant disadvantage, and some teams may even be scared off from drafting him.”
It’s only been four NFL games, but some of the concerns about Gabriel before the draft are clearly at play now that he is suiting up for the Browns. Basically, that the guy’s too short.
Browns ‘Would Not Characterize’ Dillon Gabriel Height as a Flaw
Of the three quarterbacks who were used, before the draft, in defense of Gabriel–Bryce Young, Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray, who are also under 6-feet in height–only Young still has his job. So it’s probably fair to wonder whether Gabriel’s just too short for this business.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was asked whether the problem of Gabriel’s height is showing up on game film. Stefasnki said no, but mostly dodged the issue.
“I understand the question, Tony (Grossi), but I would not characterize it that way,” he said. “We need to play better as an offense. Certainly, there’s areas to improve for a young quarterback, but it’s really on all of us to improve.”
Browns Jerry Jeudy Emphatic in Defense
The Browns can’t force Gabriel to grow three or four inches, of course. But it is impossible to say his height is not hindering him, even if the Browns refuse to acknowledge that. Scouts criticized Gabriel’s lack of deep-throw risks in college and attributed that to his height, and here in the NFL, he has thrown just six balls of 20-plus yards in four starts. There’s been only one completion, and one interception.
At Pro Football Focus, Gabriel has a grade of 46.5, which ranks No. 37 out of 37 graded QBs.
But it was clear that Browns players do not want to get into the business of criticizing Gabriel, even his height. Star receiver Jerry Jeudy was asked whether Gabriel can see his receivers well enough down the field, but Jeudy responded, flatly, “Yes.”
Dillon Gabriel: Deep Balls ‘Got to Happen’
Gabriel was not flatly asked about his height–he was asked that plenty of times before and after the Browns drafted him. But he was asked about the notion of being afraid to throw downfield, which some have directly linked to his lack of size and ability to see deep receivers.
The 1-for-6 number speaks for itself.
“I think there’s just a mixture of things that have to come together to make that happen, that’s myself included,” Gabriel said. “But you know, like we’ve talked about before, explosives, they got to happen. There’s certain categories within a game that you have to win and explosives and you know, being really good on first and second down so that you’re in some third-and-manageables and moving the chain, sustaining drives.
“So that’ll all contribute to that, but no uncomfortability like that’s something that we work on and want to continue to emphasize.”
