In a surprising twist of fate, the Oakland Raiders used their defense to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 33-16 in their week seven match-up. In their upcoming game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Derek Carr, clean offensive line play, and the running backs and defense will hold the Oakland Raiders Week Eight keys to victory.
Oakland Raiders Week Eight Keys to Victory
Raiders on Offense
Currently, the Raiders rank eighth in the NFL in points scored and 11th in yards per game. Tampa Bay ranks at the middle of the pack at 16th in points allowed and 13th in yards allowed. This should provide and interesting matchup and somewhat of a test for a Raiders offense that has been struggling in the past few games. Their toughest game up to this point has been against the Kansas City Chiefs, where Carr and company were held to ten points. Against the Jaguars, the Raiders went though a few rough patches where they suffered from untimely penalties and inconsistent play despite putting up 33 points on a struggling team.
Clean up the Penalties
First things first, the Raiders must clean up their penalties. They are the most penalized team in football, and far too often the Raiders offense suffers from mental lapses that cause false starts which turn a third and manageable into a third and long. Too many holding penalties are killing promising drives and taking away positive plays. Against a team with a sneaky good defense and an offense that can generate a lot of points, it will be imperative for the Raiders to end drives in touchdowns not six-yard screen passes on third-and-fourteen.
Feed Cooper and Crabtree All Game Long
So far, Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree have combined for 1,075 yards six touchdowns in seven games. Those two are on pace for 2,457 yards and 13 touchdowns. They will legitimately challenge any team for the title of best wide receiver duo in the league. Against a team that’s giving up only 238 yards per game through the air, they’re going to need to bring their A-game. And if they do, their A-game is certainly good enough to beat the Buccaneers underrated secondary. So far it seems as if it’s either a Cooper game or a Crabtree game, but if Bill Musgrave can draw up a game plan that get’s both wide receivers the ball, it will be extremely difficult for Tampa Bay to take both of them away, and make it much easier for Derek Carr to move the ball.
Give Latavius Murray the Rock
Latavius Murray missed the last two games with a turf toe injury and the Raiders run game struggled as a result. Against the Jaguars, the self-proclaimed “Tay Train” was back in full steam and the Raiders rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns. While Murray had only 59 yards on 18 attempts for a rather weak 3.2 YPC, the Raiders run game was effective as a whole, and both touchdown runs belonged to him.
The yards may not be there for Murray this year, but he looks more powerful than in years past, with a little bit more burst and shiftiness. He needs just one more touchdown to match his total from last year, where he paced the Raiders with six. Murray has been an excellent “lead” back and perfect compliment to the DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard, and getting Murray and subsequently Washington and Richard going will be vital to Oakland controlling the clock and keeping the Buccaneers defense honest, while keeping the Raiders defense rested.
Offensive Advantage: Raiders
Raiders on Defense
So far the Raiders pass rush has been sub-par, and that’s putting it nicely. They rank 20th in sacks and if someone’s going to get this pass rush jump started it’s got to be the defense’s best player: Khalil Mack.
Get the Mack Attack in Gear
Mack leads the team with three sacks but through seven games that is not enough. If the Raiders defense wants to have a positive game, Mack is going to have win some one on one matchups, which to this point in the season, he has struggled to do. If Mack gets his hurries, hits, and perhaps a few takedowns in the first half, Tampa Bay will do everything in their power to take him out of the game.
If they’re successful, then it’s up to the rest of the front seven to do their job, get to Jameis Winston and hit him hard and often. The key to winning on defense is to get to the quarterback and force him to make questionable decisions and poor throws, which for all his talent, Winston has a habit of doing. Fortunately for the Raiders, that plays right into their quite possibly, only defensive strength.
Play like the Plus-Eight Turnover Ratio Team They Are
The Raiders are ranked sixth in the NFL with seven interceptions. Winston is tied for third-most in the league with nine. This is a matchup that bodes well for the Raiders ball-hawking unit. For as bad as the secondary has played, they have found a penchant for locating and acquiring the football. Couple that with the fact that they’ve forced 14 fumbles, and this is a game that could get ugly if Winston isn’t careful, which fortunately for the Raiders, he has not shown to be. If the Raiders can win the turnover battle and convert those turnovers into touchdowns, it’ll but the Buccaneers in catch-up mode, which generally leads to more, hits, sacks, and coincidentally, more turnovers.
Limit the Gash Plays
For the most part, the Raiders defense played phenomenal against the Jaguars. They held them to 16 points and mostly gave up a few garbage time passing yards and some chunk run plays. What’s been so bothersome about the Raiders’ defense is that they have shown the ability to stop run plays at the line of scrimmage for a down or two, then in the same series find themselves wildly out of place and giving up a 20-yard run.
Against the pass the Raiders, when in the right coverage and right position, find themselves with the ball quite often, but also will find themselves out of place again and the receiver ends up with a huge gain. If Jack Del Rio and Ken Norton Jr. can get this defense well-prepared and in the right coverages, the Raiders could find themselves putting up another solid defensive effort.
Defensive Advantage: Tampa Bay
Final Analysis
For the Raiders to win this game on offense it’s simple; play clean football and get your playmakers the ball. Let Derek Carr do his thing and the points will come. On defense, it seems simple enough but this stop unit cannot be trusted yet. If the defense plays up to its talent level, the Raiders will find themselves at 6-2. If Tampa Bay can wreck the defense for big plays and slow down the Raiders offense, which in itself is not small task, the Bucs will find themselves in the win column.
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