Last week, the Oakland Raiders lost an ugly game to the Kansas City Chiefs, and it looked like their run had finally run out. For weeks, Derek Carr and the offense had been racing against the clock, trying to compensate for their terrible defense. Against the Chiefs, Carr and the offense didn’t show up, and the Chiefs beat the Silver and Black in the Black Hole. This week, the Raiders travel to Florida to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Oakland Raiders Week Seven Keys to Victory
Rebound From Week Six Loss
While the Raiders weren’t undefeated going into their showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs, they also hadn’t yet had a bad loss. Their only loss had come against the Atlanta Falcons in Week two, and it was only by a single score. After a loss in Week six where the Raiders had to travel a good distance and were outclassed and outcoached, it’s important for them to move on.
The Raiders are better than the Jaguars, but if Hue Jackson‘s team let themselves fall into some bad patterns, Jacksonville will exploit them. Jacksonville has a couple of really talented receivers in Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns that could abuse the likes of Sean Smith and David Amerson if the Raiders are not careful. Being motivated by a loss is okay, but being distracted is not.
Open up the Offense
Last week against Kansas City, the offense was catatonic. Bill Musgrave didn’t open up the offense at all in the second half, and the Raiders were shut out. They struggled to get anything going on the ground, and by the time they turned to the pass, it was too late.
It’s important to be multidimensional on offense, and a team needs to know when to focus on run game, or pass the ball more, or be more balance. The Chiefs dominated in time of possession, holding the ball for almost 37 minutes. The Raiders had far too many three-and-outs in the second half last week. If Carr and company do that against the Jaguars, Jacksonville will make the Raiders pay.
Defense Must Play Much Better
The Raiders defense played miserably last week against the Chiefs. They made a mediocre quarterback in Alex Smith look like a star. Blake Bortles and the Jaguars have had a slow start in 2016, but they could easily find a rhythm against a defense that is giving up over 400 yards per game (ranked last in the NFL) this season.
Ken Norton Jr‘s job as Oakland’s defensive coordinator has to be on the line, and he needs to mix things up. Norton Jr. has the personnel to have a truly great defense, but he has no idea how to use them. The fact that Khalil Mack has only two sacks through six games is just ridiculous. The Raiders defensive coordinator needs to let his defenders do what they do best. Let Sean Smith press at the line. Let Khalil Mack stand up and move around before the snap.
Unless the Raiders want to face yet another fourth quarter where they’re hoping they have the ball last, they need to make some serious adjustments on the defensive side of the ball. Honestly, doing anything other than what they have been doing should be an improvement.
