Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty runs for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Steve Marcus)

DENVER (AP) — The Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos meet Thursday to kick off Week 10 with a matchup of AFC West rivals headed in different directions.

The Raiders (2-6) traded top wide receiver Jakobi Meyers to Jacksonville on Tuesday for draft picks in the fourth and sixth rounds as the front office focuses on fixes for the future.

The Broncos (7-2) have won six straight games and are alone atop their division in November for the first time in a decade. They made no deals at the NFL’s trade deadline, the latest exhibit in their belief they already have a contending roster.

“It’s great,“ Broncos quarterback Bo Nix said when the deadline passed without any moves from general manager George Paton. “Obviously if there’s a need you want to get it, but we feel like we have all the pieces. Sometimes when something like that happens, it shakes things up. We have something good going, and we just want to keep riding this wave and finding ways to win.”

The Broncos have won all four games in which they trailed entering the fourth quarter, including last week at Houston, when they rallied against the league’s stingiest defense for an 18-15 win.

They keep coming up clutch in crunch time to atone for stretches of offensive ineptitude and special teams issues. During their winning streak, they’ve outscored their opponents 86-20 in the fourth quarter.

The Raiders gambled and lost when they went for a 2-point conversion and the win but came up short in a 30-29 loss to Jacksonville last week, and now QB Geno Smith doesn’t have Meyers either.

Although tight end Brock Bowers is Las Vegas’ top receiving option, Meyers was the Raiders’ No. 1 wide receiver. Now, third-year wideout Tre Tucker figures to be the one to fill the void, and he is having his best season with 32 catches for 427 yards and four touchdowns.

Meyers’ departure also is an opportunity for new acquisition Tyler Lockett as well as rookies Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton Jr., whose contributions have been limited at this point.

“It’s like a player got hurt, he’s out of a game, then what do you do?” offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said. “It’s the next guy’s up. So Lockett and Bech and Dont’e and those guys will have to step up, and we’ll go from there.”

The Raiders’ receivers catch a break this week with Broncos star cornerback Pat Surtain II (pectoral) out, although Riley Moss, Kris Abrams-Drain and first-rounder Jahdae Barron stepped up big against the Texans, the fourth opponent that Denver has kept out of the end zone this season.

Getting Jeanty on track

Ashton Jeanty, drafted sixth overall by the Raiders, is averaging 3.9 yards per carry. He also has received 17 or fewer carries five times and has a combined 19 rushing attempts the past two games.

“Maybe some fantasy people are a little disturbed, but we’re not coaching for fantasy people,” Kelly said. “We’re just trying to win games. I mean, he’s our No. 1 back, and when we’re running the ball, he’s running the football. … He’s continuing to grow. He’s doing a heck of a job. Really excited that we have him.”

Harvey catching on

RJ Harvey, whom the Broncos selected 60th overall in the second round, is averaging 4.5 yards per carry but he only has 46 attempts while backing up J.K. Dobbins. However, he has four touchdown catches to go with two rushing TDs.

Harvey’s four TD receptions match the number he had in four years at Central Florida.

“With Harvey, we saw this dynamic rusher, but we also knew“ he had great hands coming out of the backfield, coach Sean Payton said. “His senior year, we got to see rails (routes) and you saw soft hands. You knew he played quarterback. It’s hard to predict sometimes that a certain play is going to develop, but his body stature and his agility before contact, all of those things we really liked.”

Veteran head coaches

This matchup has Super Bowl-winning coaches who have a combined 369 NFL victories, 20 of them in the playoffs. Raiders head coach Pete Carroll, 74, is 183-137-1 and Payton, 61, is 186-116.

Payton is 4-3 against Carroll with all the games coming while Payton was coaching the New Orleans Saints and Carroll with the Seattle Seahawks.

“Pete does a great job,“ Payton said. “He has always been someone I consider a good friend in the industry. He is someone you know you will get a real well-coached team. I told you this early, I thanked him when he took the job because it made me the youngest coach in the division.”

___

AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson contributed from Las Vegas.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Denver Broncos running back RJ Harvey, top, celebrates his touchdown catch with Quinn Meinerz (77) in the second half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) escapes pressure from Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. (51) and Tim Settle Jr. (98) as Nix runs the ball for a long gain in the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (7) passes the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Steve Marcus)

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton holds the challenge flag as he talks with field judge Ryan Dickson (25) in the second half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll watches from the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Steve Marcus)