Denver, CO (My Sportsbook) - For a team that needs a win as badly as the Raiders do, this week's matchup against the well-rested Broncos in Denver couldn't have come at a more inopportune time. Oakland lost its fourth straight game with a 23-20 overtime setback to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 9 to fall back to .500, and is in danger of slipping further in the tight AFC West standings.

The Raiders have fallen into a collective stupor after opening the season with four consecutive victories. It's easy to point the finger at Oakland's offense which has not been the same unit that started the season so well. During the current four-game slide, the Raiders have averaged only 16.0 points per game. That's almost 24 points less that their 40.5 scoring average during their season-opening win streak.

QB Rich Gannon is hesitant to place blame, but it's clear that the Oakland has not packed the same punch that it did earlier this season. The team knows that a win on Monday night would go along way in salvaging the campaign.

"At this point we don't have a choice but to respond," said CB Charles Woodson. "We are on a skid now and the only way to get off that skid is to win a ballgame. We've got to regroup this week, just concentrate and stay disciplined. We can't hold out heads down and let the season go down the drain."

Denver took last Sunday off following its second straight win in Week 8, a 24-16 victory over the New England Patriots. In the wake of Oakland's collapse, the Broncos are viewed by many as the top team in the AFC.

Head coach Mike Shanahan has a well-documented disdain for the Raiders, and he would love to knock the Silver and Black down a little further in the standings. For that to happen, QB Brian Griese will need to continue his recent success and the stingy Denver D must contain the desperate Raiders. One thing's for sure, Shanahan will have his team ready for this prime time showdown after an extra week of preparation.

"The whole team got up for the Raiders," said Oakland cornerback Tory James, who played for Shanahan's Broncos from 1996-99. "If we only won one game, the Raiders were the team we wanted to beat."

SERIES HISTORY: The Broncos have won 12 of the past 14 meetings to pull within 50-31-2 in the all-time series. These teams last met on December 30 of last season and Griese threw a 12-yard TD pass to WR Rod Smith in the fourth quarter to put Denver up for good in a 23-17 win.

The past six meetings have been decided by total of 37 points. Clubs combining to average 53.5 points in past four games.

Shanahan is 12-2 (.857) in career versus the Raiders, including 7-0 at home. Oakland head coach Bill Callahan faces Denver for the first time.

MONDAY NIGHT SPOTLIGHT: This week marks the 500th Monday night football game. Denver is 21-26-1 all-time on Monday night after losing to Baltimore in Week 4. The Raiders own a 34-18-1 Monday night record.

These teams met on Monday night last season, and the Raiders posted a 38-28 win on November 5, 2001 at the Coliseum.

The Broncos are 5-2-1 versus the Raiders in Denver on MNF.

RAIDERS OFFENSE

Gannon had his worst game of the season last week, and RB Charlie Garner couldn't offer much help either. Gannon threw for a season-low 164 yards and Garner ran for only 52 yards on 14 carries. The Oakland offense picked up a total of 239 yards -- its lowest output of the year. The Raiders are built around Gannon, and if he struggles, they struggle.

Even after last week's letdown, the Raiders still own the top offense (407 ypg) in the NFL. The ability is there to turn things around, but the team is in dire need of a confidence-building win. It won't be easy this week, since the Broncos are the best overall defense in the AFC, allowing only 270.8 yards per game.

Callahan has engineered the same offense each week, and opposing teams have figured out a way to stop Oakland's approach. Since the Broncos own the best rush defense in the NFL, Oakland will have no choice but to live and die with Gannon once again.

Everyone in the NFL knows Oakland's formula for success, and Denver has been playing its best defense in years. Gannon needs to re-assert himself as the efficient quarterback he was four weeks ago after his poor effort last week. He completed a season-low 18 passes in Week 9, after completing 30 or more in the three previous games.

Last year against the Broncos, Gannon completed 60-of-82 passes (73.2 pct.) for 555 yards and five TDs with two INTs for 101.4 passer rating. This season, Gannon has thrown for 300 yards in 6-of-8 games. The NFL record for most in one year is nine.

WR Tim Brown has 33 catches for 381 yards and five TDs in his past four games versus the Broncos. His 13 career TD catches against Denver and 1,669 receiving yards are his second-most against one opponent.

BRONCOS DEFENSE

Defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes was under fire last season for a total lapse from his unit. It got so bad, in fact, that Shanahan had to take over much of the defensive play calling. This year, Rhodes has orchestrated a complete turnaround and the Broncos' defense ranks first overall in the AFC. Thanks to DT Trevor Pryce and the defensive line, Denver yields only 74.3 rushing yards per game.

Although Oakland's Garner was ineffective against New England (season-low 16 receiving yards), he will be a big part of the Raiders' game plan this week. Garner is a double threat for his rushing and pass catching skills, which could test Denver's recent success.

Luckily for the Broncos, their linebacking corps has the speed to match up with Garner out of the backfield. LBs John Mobley and Al Wilson anchor the unit, and it will be tough for the Raiders to get Garner out in open space.

The Raiders use short drops and quick passes as the bread and butter of their offense, which could nullify the impact of Pryce. After switching to the outside from his DT spot last season, Pryce has developed into one of the top ends in the league. He has great quickness that has resulted in a conference- best seven sacks.

Oakland WRs Brown, Jerry Rice and Jerry Porter have the skill to bounce back this week, but Denver's secondary has been overachieving all season. CB Deltha O'Neal is a smart defender who has the knack for making big plays.

One interesting sub-plot this week will be Oakland's success picking up first downs. Denver allows an AFC-low 17.0 first downs per game, but the Raiders average the second-most first downs in the NFL (23.6 per game).

BRONCOS OFFENSE

Griese has answered the call in a big way this season, and he was at his best in Week 8 versus New England. He completed an amazing 78.3 percent of his passes (18-for-23) and needed to throw for only 229 yards in the victory. He teamed with WR Ed McCaffrey eight times for 116 yards. If history is any indication, Griese will continue his impressive play this week.

The University of Michigan product has a 4-1 (.800) career record as starter versus the Raiders. Griese had 98.6 passer rating in last meeting, completing 19-of-26 passes (73.1 pct.) for 142 yards with one TD and zero interceptions. He holds the longest current consecutive games streak with a touchdown pass (23).

Since Shanahan has been working with Griese exclusively for the past four seasons, he knows how to run the offense around the strengths of his QB. The result has been a 65.8 completion percentage for Griese, which would be the best mark of his career if the season ended today.

But what has made Griese so successful more than anything else is the quick rise of rookie RB Clinton Portis. The first-year sensation ran for 11 yards against the Patriots two weeks ago, averaging 4.3 yards per carry. Portis gives Shanahan the ability to balance the offense and limit the amount of pressure on Griese. In Week 8, Shanahan called 40 running plays and 23 passes.

WR Rod Smith had 18 receptions for 147 yards and 3 TDs last year vs. Oakland. In past 7 against Raiders, Smith has 51 catches (7.3 per game). He and McCaffrey are a potent one-two punch. Also, TE Shannon Sharpe is still playing at a high level and he loves the prime time spotlight.

Sharpe leads all NFL TEs in receptions (38), and he will be a real test for Oakland's suspect safeties in coverage.

RAIDERS DEFENSE

Oakland has allowed 20 points or more in each of its past six games, and the Broncos have scored over 27 points in their past four games. Looking at Monday's game in these terms, it will take a great effort from the Raiders' defense in order to pull out a victory.

CB Woodson will be facing McCaffrey this week, which puts pressure on Oakland's athletic but oft-injured defensive back. McCaffrey is one of the most physical receivers in the league, and Woodson struggled against San Francisco's Terrell Owens last week.

"We did everything we could to stop Owens," said Callahan. "We put CHarles Woodson on him one-on-one, we had double coverage, we had bracket coverage. We had every conceivable coverage known to man, but he continued to break our secondary down."

That sort of effort doesn't give much hope for Monday, since McCaffrey, Smith and Sharpe are all able to beat all sorts of coverages. But if Griese makes some mistakes, that could be the difference. Oakland's defense has six players with at least one interception. Safety Rod Woodson leads the team and is tied for fifth in AFC with three picks.

The injury to DE Tony Bryant could allow Griese extra time to throw, since he was a valuable piece of Oakland's pass rush.