The Oakland Raiders will catch a break this weekend, as the Denver Broncos will be without one of their best defensive players for the "Sunday Night Football" tilt that will decide who holds possession of first place in the AFC West.
Aqib Talib, who missed practice on Thursday to get a second opinion on his back injury, missed practice again Friday and is not expected to play in the game.
#Broncos CB Aqib Talib (back) not practicing again.
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) November 4, 2016
Per sources, #broncos Aqib Talib (back) will not play Sunday vs the #raiders.
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) November 4, 2016
Broncos coach Gary Kubiak expressed Thursday that he is not overly worried about Talib's injury, but this will not be the second straight game it will keep him on the sidelines. He also sat our last week's victory over the Chargers.
Chris Harris Jr. and Bradley Roby are more than capable of handling themselves in the defensive backfield and the Broncos still have the best pass rush in football, but dealing with Derek Carr, Amari Cooper, and Michael Crabtree without Talib will certainly be more difficult than if he was on the field.
