Here we are again. The Oakland Raiders are now in control of their own destiny as the sole leaders of the AFC West. They sit at 11-3, one game ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs. The Raiders have secured a playoff spot for the first time since 2002. Now, they need to stay one game ahead of the Chiefs to keep a hold of the division and possibly earn the number two seed in the AFC and a first round bye. Standing in the Raiders path to that success are the Indianapolis Colts. This will be the second to last of a tough end of a schedule for the Oakland Raiders.
Oakland Raiders Week 16 Keys to Victory
Remember Amari Cooper
This key is quite simple. Get your best offensive position player the ball. Amari Cooper was on pace for over 1,500 yards after his huge 172 yard, 12 catch performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After six games, he’s now on pace for just over 1,100, and hasn’t gotten past 60 yards in any of those weeks. The reason that this happened is that the Raiders have played better defenses, such as the Denver Broncos, Houston Texans and the Kansas City Chiefs. These teams have also been playing Amari Cooper a lot tougher. He has seen a lot more double coverages and safeties over the top in the second half.
This is a good game for Cooper to get back in a nice groove in preparation for the playoffs. The Colts defense has played a lot better recently. At the same time, they’ve played against quarterbacks Bryce Petty, Brock Osweiler, and Sam Bradford. Those three unimpressive names threw one touchdown to four interceptions, and the first two didn’t eclipse even 150 yards. Do not expect that to happen to Raiders quarterback Derek Carr.
Carr has thrown for 3,705 yards this season, along with 25 touchdowns. The Colts defense didn’t get good, they were playing weaker offenses. Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree form one of the best wide receiver duos in the NFL. Number three wide receiver Seth Roberts drops the ball a lot, but he has five touchdowns this year, ten for his entire career, and the Raiders are undefeated when he scores. Carr isn’t short on good weapons, but his best one is Cooper. If this offense is going to play good football on Saturday, getting the ball in Amari Cooper’s hands is the first step to success.
Duel of the Fates
Some teams are good at forcing turnovers, sometimes it’s just luck. Sometimes, it’s fate that decides the games! This week, turnovers and the field position battle is critical. These types of battles are more critical to the outcome of games when the season gets closer to the playoffs. The Vikings made mistakes by fumbling the ball twice and throwing an interception in the first half. The Raiders are the best team at protecting and taking the ball away. They lead the NFL in turnover differential at +15. They’ve gotten 26 turnovers on the year with 13 fumbles and 13 interceptions, and gave up the ball just 11 times. Forcing the Colts to commit turnovers should make this an easy game for the Raiders, if they’re able to convert those turnovers into points. Turning the ball over shouldn’t be an issue for the Raiders, because it hasn’t been all year. The biggest task is forcing Andrew Luck to make bad decisions or getting quick pressure on him and stripping the ball away.
Another under the radar duel that is getting a little attention is the battle between the two punters. Marquette King of the Oakland Raiders and Colts punter Pat McAfee are the two best punters in the NFL. What makes them that way is not just their superior talent to the rest of the punters in the game, but also their joyful attitudes to their jobs. Punting isn’t the most glorious or most heralded of positions. But King and McAfee have embraced their roles and love it. The two punters fighting to give their team the best field position will be an interesting key to this game.
The fates will either bounce in the Raiders or the Colts favor. It is each team’s job to react accordingly, and make the necessary adjustments if luck isn’t on their side.
1…2…3…Too Much Time
Three seconds is too much time for Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck. Give him three seconds and he will make the Raiders secondary pay. It is the job of Defensive Player of the Year candidate Khalil Mack and his “sidekick” Bruce Irvin to dominate the Colts offensive line and terrorize Luck as much as possible. The Raiders seem to struggle defensively in the first quarter, sometimes the first half, as they get a feel for the opponent’s offense. As the playoffs have come closer and the year has progressed, the defense has been much better, but the catalyst for the better play is Khalil Mack.
Khalil Mack has stuffed the stat sheet this year. He has forced five fumbles, recovered three, returned an interception for a touchdown, continues to stuff the run, and his eight game sack streak was just ended against the San Diego Chargers last Sunday. He has 11 sacks on the year. Bruce Irvin has seven sacks in 2016, the most since his rookie season when he had eight, and also has forced five fumbles.
Those two have to get through the Colts offensive line that held the excellent Minnesota Vikings defense to zero sacks last week. If Andrew Luck is given three seconds in the pocket, he will pick apart the depleted Raiders secondary. The Raiders have lost rookie starting safety Karl Joseph and nickel corner D.J. Hayden. Joseph might be back for the playoffs, but Hayden is done for the season. Cornerbacks Sean Smith and David Amerson will have their hands full, matched up with the Colts receivers. T.Y. Hilton is having the best year of his career and leads the NFL in plays over 20 yards, with 25. The speedy wideouts can burn this secondary, especially if the pass rush doesn’t do a consistent job of limiting Andrew Luck time in the pocket. The front seven also has to contain him, because he has the legs to do damage if his receivers aren’t open, and the running lanes are. Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin have been outstanding all year, and the success of the Raiders defense and their season continues to rest on their shoulders.
