Player by player, position for position, the Denver Broncos have the most talent in the league. But they're reeling right now. The Broncos have not lived up to expectations and they know it. Fourth and seventh in overall offense and defense, respectively, the Broncos are not playing like a top-level team.

Denver is also wavering a bit in terms of confidence. There's a lot of finger-pointing and "I confess, he did it" stuff on this team. Players are starting to assign blame -- which is never good.

The Raiders had a setback last week against Miami but remain as confident as ever. They feel their 23-17 loss to the Dolphins (their fifth loss of the season) was an aberration, and they still believe they're the favorite to win the Super Bowl. Oakland, with all of its veteran talent, is still good enough to get there. The majority of the Raiders' plays this year have come from guys 35 and older -- the players they'll continue to lean on.

The good news for Oakland is that the Broncos don't have a pass-rusher like Miami's Jason Taylor. Defensive end Trevor Pryce is decent, but he can't get to the quarterback like Taylor can. That's an advantage for the Raiders.

Five keys for the Broncos
1. Attack the Raiders' cornerbacks: Charles Woodson is coming off an injury and now is the perfect time for Rod Smith, Ed McCaffrey and Ashley Lelie to go after the Raiders' corners and try to make big plays. When someone is hurt, you have go after them right away, even though Woodson is so good. Denver has to utilize its big, physical receivers.

2. Feature Portis: Clinton Portis will be the Offensive Rookie of the Year, and you can't go away from a guy like that. The Broncos have to make the Raiders stop him, which then sets up their very good play-action game. Let the rookie carry the load; he's good enough to do it. There have been times this year when Denver has gone away from Portis and it has cost the Broncos, especially in overtime losses to the Chargers and Colts.

3. Play physical: The Denver defensive backs must be physical with the Raiders wide receivers. If they're going to drop off and play soft zone, Rich Gannon, Tim Brown, Jerry Rice and Jerry Porter will kill the Broncos. The Dolphins got up in their faces last week and took Gannon out of his rhythm, and when he has to hold the ball it's a different game. If Denver is not physical, the Raiders will blow them out.

4. Production from stars: The Broncos need guys such as Brian Griese, John Mobley and Rod Smith to produce. The guys who are supposed to be stars need to make plays. Denver should have six or seven Pro Bowl selections with all the talent on that team, but it won't. The talented players have to come up with huge plays because those are the guys teams look to, and right now a rookie is carrying this team.

5. QB production: Griese has been inconsistent for most of this year. He has got to perform much better. He can't turn the ball over in the red zone and had better decide this is going to be one of his good games. If he turns the ball over to Oakland, the Broncos will not win.

Five keys for the Raiders
1. Commit to the run: The Raiders' idea of a running game is throwing the ball short. Both Tyrone Wheatley and Charlie Garner are good players, and Oakland has to commit to handing the ball off and controlling the clock so Gannon does not have to carry so much of the burden. The problem is not so much their ability to run as much as their commitment to the run.

2. Motion wide receivers: The Raiders can't line up stationary like they did against Miami, letting the Dolphins get physical. Oakland has to let Brown and Rice roll in motion so they get a running start and cannot be grabbed at the line of scrimmage.

3. Force turnovers: Oakland needs to force a couple of turnovers and use home-field advantage to their benefit. Whether it happens on special teams or elsewhere doesn't matter. Causing turnovers at home will win football games. The stats point to that, and if the Raiders can force Griese to throw a couple of bad passes, they will win the game.

4. Special teams -- kicking: Sebastian Janikowski has arguably had a Pro Bowl year, and I think this game will come down to a field goal. This game won't be a blowout. It will come down to Janikowski and Jason Elam, and the Raiders have a slight advantage in that matchup.

5. Count on Gannon: Gannon has not had back-to-back bad games this year, and I don't expect him to start now. The Miami game was his worst of the season, if you can even call it a bad game. Gannon has put up 300 or more yards in 10 games this year and needs to get back in rhythm. Rich's game used to include holding the ball and then getting out of the pocket, but now he is about getting between three and five steps back, hitting his back foot and getting in rhythm. If he can do that, game over.

Sean Salisbury covers the NFL for ESPN.