Raiders coach Dennis Allen is in Texas to be with his ailing father, but he plans to return to Oakland on Wednesday and coach his team against the Broncos on Thursday night. (US Presswire)

This is not just another week for the Oakland Raiders.

As his players and assistants began cramming Monday for a Thursday night home game against Denver, coach Dennis Allen was in the Dallas area to be with his seriously ill father, former Atlanta Falcons linebacker Grady Allen.

Allen still expects to rejoin the Raiders on Wednesday night and be on the sidelines for Thursday night's game, according to a team spokesperson.

Offensive coordinator Greg Knapp will run practices the next two days.

"We'll talk later today," Knapp said of Allen. "I sent him a text this morning, let him know we're thinking about him. That's a tough time right now."

Allen's coordinators and assistant coaches spent Monday putting together a plan for Denver. Players met in position groups, on their own, to watch Broncos game tape. The team will practice Tuesday and Wednesday.

"Actually, our assistants started last week on preparing for Denver," Knapp said. "So they have all the preliminary reports for the coordinators to review. I started last night. So I came from the game over here last night. When you have a short week like this you let the assistants know ahead of night, 'Hey, start having your third-down, your red zone, you first- and second-down reports ready to go by the time that game's over with so the coordinators can start studying it.' Today we went right into a normal Tuesday routine for coaches.

"We started game planning this morning for Denver, and then our practice schedule for the next two days will obviously be a little bit shorter because our guys need to still recover from this game and get ready for the next game. From a game-plan standpoint you condense maybe three days of practice into two. From a coaching standpoint, you've done a lot of work ahead of time, so you can make it happen a little bit sooner during the week."

Allen, a former defensive coordinator, typically spends most, but far from all, of his time working with the defense. This week, he won't be able to be as involved in putting together a defensive game plan and preparing for the Broncos.

"Dennis and I talk frequently all the time anyway, but this is a personal matter for him," Raiders defensive coordinator Jason Tarver said. "You know, a lot of times when you get to this short week, you've done some work ahead of time on this opponent and it's somebody that we've seen before, so we've done some work ahead of time together. Right now, the plan is, (for) myself, I won't bother him today."

Allen learned before Sunday's 20-17 loss to Cleveland that his father was in the intensive care unit of a Dallas are hospital. After the game, he did not tell his team about his father's illness and did not mention it during his press conference. A team spokesperson revealed the news to reporters after Allen left the podium.

"That's sad, man," Raiders offensive tackle Khalif Barnes said about Allen. "I was informed about that [Sunday]. I wish him all the best and hope his father can fight through what he's going through. I wish coach Allen the best, and our prayers are with him. I understand he's coming back Wednesday night to be with us. I wish him safe travels. I just hope everything turns out for the best for him."

This has been a tumultuous season for the Raiders on and off the field. Earlier this season, Raiders defensive line coach Terrell Williams' son, Tyson, died of an illness at the age of 4.

Raiders defensive coordinator Jason Tarver was asked if he's ever been on a team where the coach had to leave because of a family health issue.

“This is a pretty unique season, both on and off the field, I’ll say that," Tarver said. "There’s [been] a bunch of adversity and the true character of a man and a coach and whoever, is to no matter what the circumstances be a pro and handle your business. But I’ve been a part of a lot of different situations both in this league and in coaching but there’s some unique things that have happened this year.”

Plans for Pryor: Knapp said he prepared a "package" of plays for No. 3 quarterback Terrelle Pryor but didn't have the "right situations" to use them Sunday against Cleveland.

"We plan on having him [suit up] again this Thursday and using him in the right situations to help develop his growth," Knapp said.

Pryor suited up Sunday for the first time this season.

Quoteable: "You just play for pride. We don’t want to go out there and get embarrassed Thursday night. Our family, friends, high school coaches, little league coaches, everybody will be watching us." -- CB Michael Huff on staying motivated for Thursday night's game after falling to 3-9.

Extra points: The Raiders didn't practice Monday, but they issued an injury report, as required by the league for teams playing on Thursday night. Based on information provided by team trainers, CB Phillip Adams (concussion), S Mike Mitchell (concussion), S Matt Giordano (concussion) and DT Richard Seymour (knee/hamstring) were not healthy enough to practice. FB Marcel Reece (hamstring/quadriceps), QB Carson Palmer (right thumb), RB Darren McFadden (ankle), RB Mike Goodson (ankle) and RB Taiwan Jones (ankle) would have been limited.

Follow Raiders reporter Eric Gilmore on Twitter @CBSRaiders.