With a national audience watching, Khalil Mack and the Oakland Raiders pass rush showed up in a big way.
Return of the Mack
Those looking for a signature win from the Raiders finally got it Sunday night. We witnessed the most impressive iteration of the team to date. They were solid in all three phases and dominant in time of possession and field position. For once, late game heroics were not necessary.
Most of what we saw on Sunday should not have come as a surprise. We knew about the strength of the Raiders offense already; it wasn’t shocking to see the offensive line exploit a matchup with the Denver Broncos weak run defense.
The more striking takeaway was the success of the Oakland pass rush, anchored by Khalil Mack. He filled up the stat sheet with two sacks, eight hurries, a forced fumble, and a pass deflected on his way to a league best 98.3 grade from ProFootballFocus. It was the second consecutive strong showing from Mack, who is suddenly back to form after a relatively slow start to the season. He had no sacks in the first three weeks of the season but has racked up seven since, the second most in that span. Thanks to an absurd 21 pressures in his last two games, Mack now ranks third in the league behind Aaron Donald and Von Miller with 47 in total. He has also vaulted up PFF’s list of the top-graded edge defenders, ranking second with a total grade of 90.7, just fractions behind Brandon Graham.
However, Mack hardly acted alone Sunday. As a unit, the Raiders defense pressured Trevor Siemian on 21 of his 39 dropbacks. He did not respond well, completing 7 of 19 passes for 114 yards when facing pressure (69 of which came when Kapri Bibbs broke free on a screen pass after the game had long been decided). Siemian was even worse when facing the blitz, completing just one of seven passes.
While Mack got the Raiders only two sacks, the rest of their front was still incredibly disruptive. Bruce Irvin had six hurries and earned an 86.6 grade from PFF. Darius Latham, the latest rookie to break out for Oakland this season, had three hurries on his way to an 82.9 grade. The overall performance helped create an identity for a defense that has struggled for most of the season, and it will be interesting to see how the unit evolves in the coming weeks when Mario Edwards Jr. and (potentially) Aldon Smith are added to the mix.
The Raiders defensive line deserves credit for their performance, but Sunday night was also an indictment of the Denver offensive line. The Raiders isolated Mack on Broncos right tackle Donald Stephenson for the majority of the game, and Mack dominated the matchup. The Raiders aren’t the first team to expose Stephenson, who grades out as the second-worst tackle in football, so it is somewhat surprising that the Denver didn’t provide him with more help in pass protection.
Nevertheless, excitement over last night’s win is warranted (despite some Broncos players feeling otherwise). Oakland demonstrated a blueprint for how they plan to win games against teams in the league’s upper echelon. As much as adrenaline filled comebacks have seemed like second nature for Jack Del Rio‘s group, this team is probably best suited for playing with a lead. The offensive line is dominant in the run game, and the defense is at its best when Khalil Mack and company can pin back their ears and get after opposing quarterbacks.
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