Oakland Raiders: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Vs. Tennessee Titans

The Good – Oakland Forces Three Turnovers

For the third straight week, the Raiders won the turnover battle. Although Derek Carr did throw his first interception of the season, the Oakland defense picked off Marcus Mariota twice and also forced him to fumble.

It was an especially good outing for beleaguered cornerback Sean Smith and safety Reggie Nelson. Neither had particularly good showings in the first two games, and they were part of a secondary that was able to clamp down on Tennessee’s passing attack.

An effective pass rush – a first this season – harassed Mariota and forced him into several mistakes. Smith and Nelson were there to capitalize, each picking off one of his passes.

For the game, Oakland’s secondary – which had been little more than a turnstile for opposing receivers the first two games – held Mariota to 214 yards on 52 percent passing (17 of 33). Mariota was sacked once, held without a touchdown toss, had the two interceptions, and finished the day with a QB rating of 46.8.

It was a very similar stat line to what the defense held Mariota to when these two teams met last season.

This is not to say they didn’t have their issues, but D.J. Hayden‘s unbelievable mistakes aside, the secondary group put in a solid performance. Smith and fellow David Amerson were among the league’s top rated cornerbacks in week three – with Amerson claiming the top spot.

All in all, it was a good day for an Oakland secondary that desperately needed one.