Oakland Raiders vs. Cincinnati Bengals: Week One Gamers and Goats

Sep 13, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders defensive end Aldon Smith (99) is congratulated by teammates after pressuring Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (not pictured) in the third quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Bengals defeated the Raiders 33-13. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Oakland’s Defensive Front: Goat

A lot of talk this offseason has centered around Oakland’s rebuilt defensive front and the improvements made to it this offseason. Adding pieces like Dan Williams, Curtis Lofton, and Malcolm Smith was supposed to improve Oakland’s run defense as well as help them create pressure on the opposing quarterback. Those improvements though, were nowhere to be seen against the Bengals as the Oakland defense was lit up all day long.

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The Raiders did a relatively decent job of limiting Cincinnati’s Jeremy Hill, holding him to just 63 yards on 19 carries. But they did surrender two short touchdown runs to the Bengals running back. Giovani Bernard found some success against Oakland, running for 63 yards on just eight carries for a 7.9 yards per carry average.

Suffice it to say, the run defense had mixed results. While they held an outstanding back like Hill under a hundred yards for the game, the team as a whole surrendered 127 yards in total. They’re going to have to do a far better job of containing opposing running backs.

In terms of the defense getting to Dalton and putting some pressure on him, it simply did not happen. Dalton got hit a couple of times, and Khalil Mack very nearly got to him several other times, but for the vast majority of the game, Dalton was simply allowed to stand back in the pocket, read the paper and have a cup of coffee before deciding which receiver to throw to.

Dalton was surgical in cutting up Oakland’s defense. He completed nearly 75 percent of his passes for 269 yards and a pair of scores. He finished the day with a QB rating of 115.9.

It wasn’t close to being a good day for the Raiders defense, and they are going to have to rebound and play with the fire and ferocity we saw through the preseason if Oakland is going to have any sort of success.

Next: Oakland's Young Guns Misfire