Broncos-Raiders rivalry needs infusion of old-time hatred

Thankfully, Bradley Chubb has channeled his inner Tom Jackson to find his hatred of the Raiders.

No matter where the Las Vegas Raiders call home, I hate them.

There is a seething hatred for this franchise that dates back to my fandom of the Denver Broncos. There is no other rival for Denver.

Pat Bowlen saw it the same way.

On his to-do list, one of the three items was “Beat the Raiders.”

If that isn’t enough, ask former Broncos linebacker Tom Jackson how he feels about the Raiders. Or former Denver coach Mike Shanahan. Side note, I still can’t believe the Broncos played the way they did last season against Las Vegas when Shanahan was inducted into the Ring of Fame. Anyway, back to this season.

Now Russell Wilson gets his first taste of this rivalry on Sunday.

Thankfully, Bradley Chubb is now channeling his inner Mr. Jackson.

As he told the Denver media this week:

“I hate ‘em, to be honest with you. I hate ‘em. There’s only a few teams in the league I hate and they’re one of them. Because every time we go there it seems like it hasn’t (gone) in our favor.”

Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett was guarded in his answers this week when asked about the animosity for the Raiders.

“I mean, it’s a great rivalry (and) it has been for a long time,” he said. “It’s part of the (AFC) West and the West is the fastest way to have a chance to get to the playoffs. There’s definitely emphasis on that. From that standpoint, can’t really hate anybody in this world. That’s too much energy … it’s another game, we’re excited to go against the Raiders.”

Not that this historic rivalry needs any help, but Denver hasn’t beat the Raiders on their home turf since 2015. In fact, the Broncos have lost four straight to Las Vegas. Both of those streaks need to end this weekend.

“It’s always a tough game,” Chubb told Denver media. “I always know it’s going to be a good matchup. I always know it’s going to be — I’m not going to say ‘dirty,’ but they talk and stuff, we talk and stuff and it’s going back-n-forth.”