By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — Robbie Gould’s 49-yard game winning field goal in the closing moments of Oakland’s 22-20 loss in Chicago last week to the previous winless Bears may still taste sour to Raider Nation, but in the NFL you got to have a short-term memory.

The Raiders are 2-2 after the first month of the season and as the calendar has switched from September to October, Oakland’s season will really begin this Sunday when the Silver and Black host one of their bitter rivals, the Denver Broncos (4-0) at 1:25 p.m. PT. Oakland returns home after finishing 1-1 on a two-game road trip through Cleveland and the aforementioned Chicago.

Second-year Raiders’ signal-caller Derek Carr has thrown the ball well this season, completing  77-of-123 passes for 922 yards, seven touchdowns and just two interceptions. Carr leads a Oakland offense that may rank 17th in the league, but Oakland has the 10th best passing attack with the wide receiving duo of Michael Crabtree and rookie sensation Amari Cooper leading the way.

Cooper and Crabtree are in the top-20 among all receivers combining for 47 catches, 603 yards receiving, and three touchdowns. Cooper’s 14.1 yards per catch average ranks in the top-10 among all receivers.

In Oakland’s two losses against Denver last season, Carr completed 48-of-83 passes for 350 yards, with three touchdowns and three interceptions. The Raiders were outscored by Denver 88-31 in both games.

If the Raiders have any chance to hand Denver its first loss of the season, Oakland’s 31st ranked defense is going to have to limit the turnovers and apply some serious heat on the great Peyton Manning. Denver’s revamped offensive line has gotten Manning sacked 10 times through four games this season.

Even in his 18th season and Father Time is tugging on his cape, Manning is still one of the better quarterbacks in the game today. Manning has completed 98-of-154 passes for 968 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions. The five-time league MVP has thrown an interception in every game this season, a career-high for Manning to start the season according to Elias Sports Bureau.

Oakland did have some trouble getting to opposing quarterbacks this season, as it took three games to record the team’s first sack. Khalil Mack has three of the team’s eight sacks this season.

The Raiders’ secondary, a secondary that does feature another future Pro Football Hall of Famer in safety Charles Woodson in his 18th year, is a battered bunch and will have their work cut out for them in covering Broncos’ wide receivers Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas, but keep your eye on tight end Owen Daniels.

Daniels could join a long line of tight ends that have destroyed the middle of Oakland’s defense this season. Tight ends are averaging five catches, 85 yards and a touchdown this season against the Silver and Black.

Carr and the Raiders could be in store for a long day facing the Broncos’ stifling defense, who rank No. 1 overall in against both the run and the pass.The Broncos are yielding 17.2 points per game so far this season.

Denver may have a formidable secondary with Chris Harris Jr. and Aqib Talib anchoring the corners and safety T.J. Ward ready to lay the lumber, the Broncos’ strength on defense has got to be the linebackers, which Denver’s defensive coordinator Wade Phillips knows how to deploy with his exotic blitz schemes.

Von Miller is such a force that he’s nearly unblockable and will be rewarded with a monster contract next offseason. Miller recovered Vikings’ quarterback Teddy Bridgewater’s fumble after Ward’s strip-sack in the final seconds to preserve Denver’s 23-20 victory over Minnesota in Week 4.

DeMarcus Ware continues to be one of the league’s feared pass rushers in his 11th year out of Troy, leading the league with 4.5 sacks. Fellow linebackers Danny Trevathan and Brandon Marshall are quickly becoming household names with solid tackling and strong communication.