The Oakland Raiders got back to their winning ways, beating the Jacksonville Jaguars 33-16, in Jacksonville. The Raiders continue to win on the road, now posting a 4-0 away record. The defense stepped up in a big way for the Raiders, picking Blake Bortles off twice and holding the Jaguars to 344 yards, the least amount of yards any opposing team has accumulated against the Raiders this year. Whether this is a sign of things to come or not, this is a great win for the Oakland Raiders, who will continue to win games in convincing fashion if their defense holds opposing offenses like they did on Sunday.
Oakland Raiders Week Seven Takeaways
Seven is Greater than Three
Red zone efficiency is critical for a team to be successful. Scoring touchdowns when that close to the end zone instead of settling for field goals can be the sole determination of the outcome of the game. The Raiders started the season converting 11 of 12 red zone opportunities for touchdowns. Their next ten trips, they were able to only get in the end zone five times. Against the Jaguars, they started to get back on track, scoring three touchdowns out of five red zone trips. Quarterback Derek Carr felt that the Raiders could have done much better, quoted saying that the Raiders “…left too many touchdowns out there.”
Kicker Sebastian Janikowski was very busy on Sunday, converting all four of his field goal attempts, but two of those came from missed red zone chances. It can still be said that the offense played a lot better than last week, and they were more efficieent in the red zone. Running back Latavius Murray re-joined the Raiders after missing the last two games with a toe injury, and he might be the biggest reason for the Raiders red zone success. The Raiders other two running backs, Deandre Washington and Jalen Richard, do have a lot of skill, but they are not as imposing as Murray. Washington and Richard are shifty, but better when there’s a lot of open space in the field. They were unable to run the ball effectively when they were deep inside the opposing team’s side of the field.
Latavius Murray is a big running back, measuring at 6’3” and 230 pounds, and runs with a lot of power when the Raiders start getting close to the end zone. With Murray back, the Raiders were able to pound the ball between the guards which also opened up the passing game inside the 20. Murray scored a two and nine yard touchdown, and Carr was able to throw a two yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Michael Crabtree. With Latavius Murray, the Raiders will be able to get back to scoring touchdowns at a high rate in the red zone.
Shut ‘em Down
If the secondary plays like they did against the Jaguars, the Raiders are going to have a much easier time winning games. The run defense wasn’t superb, giving up 6.6 yards per carry, but the secondary played their best football so far. The Jaguars have one of the most talented wide receiver duo in the league with Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns. Cornerbacks Sean Smith and David Amerson kept those two in check for the most part, allowing only six catches for 54 yards, and Amerson picked off Blake Bortles with a spectacular leap and grab. The Jaguars wide receivers did have some drops that might’ve changed the numbers a bit, but for the game, they were never comfortable in their home turf because of the physicality and great coverage by Smith and Amerson.
This was the first time in this season that the Raiders didn’t allow 350 passing yards or 125 rushing yards. Also, allowing only 16 points was the best showing by the Raiders since they held the Tennessee Titans to 10 points. The Jaguars couldn’t find any way to get in the end zone until a garbage time touchdown pass from Bortles to his tight end Julius Thomas. 2015 All-Pro Khalil Mack came to play as well. He and fellow edge defender Bruce Irvin consistently kept Bortles uncomfortable, keeping pressure on him throughout the match. Irvin forced a fumble, and Mack recorded his third sack of the year and had three quarterback hurries. Since Week 4, Mack has been able to fight through those double teams and get to the quarterback at a more constant rate. He has 21 tackles and three sacks in the last month.
Middle linebacker Perry Riley has been a really nice pickup for the Raiders. The Raiders claimed him off of waivers from the Washington Redskins, who the Raiders also got David Amerson from. Riley has been the Raiders best linebacker since he stepped on the field with them, and has strengthened the coverage problems that were hurting them so badly. This game, he recorded a quarterback hurry and a run stop as well as get a 80.5 pass coverage grade from Pro Football Focus. The Raiders defense has had good and bad this season, mostly bad. This could be a turnaround game, and they should feel pretty good about how they played. Continuing this kind of play is crucial if they want to continue to win games.
Don’t Give the Ball Up, Take It
Turnovers might be one of the most overlooked statistics in the NFL. Taking care of the football is crucial to winning games. Seven of the top eight teams in the NFL, based on their records, are in the top ten of turnover differential. Some of the teams, like the New England Patriots and the Dallas Cowboys don’t force a lot of turnovers, but they take care of the football better than others. The Arizona Cardinals are an example of a team that forces a lot of turnovers, but also turn the ball over a lot themselves. They’re second in the league in takeaways, but they’ve also given the ball away ten times. Then, there are teams like the Minnesota Vikings, Kansas City Chiefs and the Raiders, who are able to both protect that ball really well and at the same time, force a lot of turnovers. That is a recipe for success, even if the team gives up a lot of yards.
The Raiders are 3-0 when they force multiple turnovers in the game, and are 4-1 when they win the turnover battle. The ugliest game for the Raiders this year was their loss to the Chiefs, and the Raiders turned the ball over twice, and weren’t successful in forcing the Chiefs to do the same. The Raiders are 4th in takeaways with 13, and tied for second with only 5 giveaways this season. Turnovers are a key component on the outcome of how well a team will do, and the Raiders are winning that battle almost every game.
