Oakland Raiders: Khalil Mack, Bruce Irvin in favorable Week 4 matchups

How does the Denver Broncos pass protection stack up against Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin? What should we expect from the Oakland Raiders pass rush?

Oakland Raiders fans probably remember edge-rusher Khalil Mack’s five-sack performance in Week 14 of the 2015 season. No, don’t expect an encore at that magnitude on Sunday, but the Denver Broncos offensive line certainly invites a huge problem for quarterback Trevor Siemian.

Denver Post reporter Nicki Jhabvala asked Siemian about Menelik Watson‘s potential advantage over Mack due to familiarity, and he didn’t express much conviction in his right tackle’s competitive edge over the Defensive Player of the Year:

Siemian sounds like a quarterback who’s taken his fair share of lumps in the pocket. He’s been sacked nine times behind a shaky offensive line; Watson allowed six, per Pro Football Focus Elite.

In fairness to the former Raiders offensive tackle, he’s competed against top-tier pass-rushers over the past three weeks. Dallas Cowboys defensive end Demarcus Lawrence and Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Melvin Ingram rank No. 1 and No. 2 on the sack leaders list. Watson didn’t fare well against either. Though, he bounced back with a solid performance against the Buffalo Bills, who rank No. 6 as a team in that category.

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For Siemian, there’s bad news coming to Sports Authority Field at Mile High. As an overall player, Mack has developed further along than Lawrence and Ingram as a pass-rusher.

The fourth-year defensive end comes off consecutive double-digit sack seasons, and he’s dropped the quarterback once in each of the past two games.

If Watson struggled with Lawrence and Ingram, he’s going to have a difficult time keeping the pocket clean with Mack bearing down off the edge.

Bruce Irvin’s Breakout Performance

It’s possible the coaching staff provides sufficient help on Watson’s side to ensure Mack doesn’t record another career day at the Broncos’ expense. On the opposite side, we may see linebacker Bruce Irvin record his first sack of the 2017 season.

Irvin has been active against the run. He’s registered six stops but only three quarterback hurries, per Pro Football Focus Elite. This week, he’ll match up against a hobbled rookie blindside tackle in Garett Bolles who suffered a deep bone bruise in Week 2, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter:

The Broncos staff carted Bolles off the field in that game, but he miraculously returned to practice and played in Week 3.

He deserves some respect for his toughness, but the rookie tackle allowed five quarterback hurries and two hits against the Bills. The injury likely factored into his poor performance. Fortunately for Siemian, Watson kept the pocket clean on the right side. Irvin’s athleticism and quickness off the edge will put Bolles on notice.

The Raiders have two favorable matchups on the edge and should fare well against the inconsistency, inexperience and ailing talent at offensive tackle set to protect Siemian.

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Quarterback Derek Carr has only eclipsed 200 passing yards once in the last five meetings with the Broncos. Thus far, Denver boasts the No. 1 run defense, which adds another layer of difficulty for offensive coordinator Todd Downing’s unit.

The Raiders defense must limit Denver’s scoring opportunities through an aggressive push toward the pocket to help the back-end coverage. Similar to the 2015 campaign, these teams will battle in a low-scoring game in which the team closest to 20 points takes the victory.