OAKLAND, Calif. –It's never easy to win on the road, especially against division rivals, but over the past two years, the Broncos have seemed comfortable doing just that.
Thursday's win at Oakland completed the road portion of the team's divisional schedule with the club a perfect 6-0 road record against the Raiders, Chargers and Chiefs over the last two years.
"You want to be a road warrior," said running back Knowshon Moreno, who ran for 119 yards in the win at Oakland. "Not only protect your house at home, you want to go on the road and get wins in a tough environment, just like today. It definitely feels good."
The Broncos are 5-0 in all their games against AFC West opponents this season with one more game to go against the Chiefs at home in the season finale.
The Broncos current eight-game winning streak started in San Diego and included a stop in Kansas City before the most recent win at Oakland.
"I'm new to the division, (but) there are great rivalries and tradition," quarterback Peyton Manning said. "There is a lot of pride. Records are out the window. We come in here and get a win, we'll take it however it looks and we feel good about the victory."
Though the Raiders entered Thursday's game with a 3-9 record, the Broncos knew they would be in for a hard-fought battle at O.co Coliseum.
Linebacker D.J. Williams has seen his share of the black hole over his nine seasons with the team and knew what to expect.
"Whenever you're playing inside the division, you know it's going to be a tough game," Williams said. "We haven't swept them in many years. Just like a few weeks ago, playing Kansas City, when you're playing divisional games the records mean nothing."
Moreno said the team's road success starts back in Denver during the practices leading up to the game.
"Just our preparation throughout the whole week," Moreno said. "Preparing ourselves physically and mentally to go into a hostile environment and try to come out with a win when the team is going to give it all they have."
Five of the eight wins have come on the road, something that the team will turn to as it hopes to extend the streak another game next week in Baltimore.
"We're playing a good Baltimore team, playing at their place," Manning said. "I know how tough it is to play (there), and Baltimore has been good since I've been in the NFL. I think it'd be a good test for us. We talk about getting better. All the other stuff, that's not what we talk about. We get better each week and we'll see what happens from there."
