With a Denver Broncos Week 1 game scheduled against the Las Vegas Raiders, a lot of eyes will be on head coach Sean Payton in his first game in Denver against the division-rival Raiders. Ahead of the Broncos-Raiders game, we’ll be making our Broncos Week 1 predictions. 

The Broncos are looking to bounce back from a disastrous 2022 campaign where Denver was just 5-12. With Sean Payton taking over, Russell Wilson will take the reins of a new offense while welcoming back RB Javonte Williams into the fold. Williams tore his ACL in a game last year against the Raiders.

The Broncos could be a little short-handed at wide receiver, as Jerry Jeudy may not be ready to play as he recovers from a hamstring strain. The Raiders will be welcoming back RB Josh Jacobs, who missed all of training camp and preseason due to a contract holdout.  The Broncos lost to the Raiders in both regular season games last year.

With the stage set for the AFC West matchup, let's get our Broncos Week 1 predictions.

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3. Marvin Mims scores a touchdown in his NFL debut

Mims, a second-round draft pick out of Oklahoma, is a perfect match for Sean Payton's offense and Russell Wilson's deep-ball ability. He shows why the Broncos traded up to get him in an expanded Week 1 role with Jeudy not 100 percent, streaking down the sideline and beating a burnable Raiders secondary for a touchdown in his NFL debut.

With the touchdown in his first game, Mims joins the likes of fellow speedsters Marquise Brown and Terry McLaurin to make a big impact in their NFL debut. Mims is one of the most slept-on rookie receiver prospects in recent history, but he ends that with a big Week 1 performance against the Raiders.

 

2. Russell Wilson throws for over 300 yards

This wouldn't qualify as anything groundbreaking in the past, as Wilson regularly put up huge numbers with the Seattle Seahawks. Last season, however, Wilson threw for over 300 yards just once…in the opening game against his former teammates.

With Payton at the helm and Javonte Williams likely to be on a snap-count, the Broncos will lean on Wilson and his arm to move the chains against a Raiders defense that allowed the 4th most passing yards in the league last year. Wilson's deep ball connections with Courtland Sutton and Marvin Mims rack up the yards early, and put the Raiders in negative game scripts for Josh Jacobs, forcing Jimmy Garoppolo to try and match Wilson in a shootout.

Denver's offense, despite not being fully healthy, looks vastly improved under Payton and Wilson gets back to making plays with better protection up front.

 

1. Broncos beat the Raiders by two scores

The Broncos exact some revenge over the Raiders and start the 2023 season off right with a huge opening game Week 1 victory at home against their AFC West rival. Garoppolo struggles in his first game with his new team, as Denver's stout secondary blankets every receiver not named Davante Adams and makes multiple drives stall out.

After being shredded by Josh Jacobs last year (253 rushing yards in two games), the Broncos mostly hold the Raiders ground game in check as Jacobs shakes off some of the rust. A late fourth-quarter drive capitalized by a Javonte Williams touchdown puts the Broncos ahead two scores, and Garoppolo throws a game-sealing interception to wrap things up for the Broncos in a Week 1 win over the Raiders.