Oakland Raiders: Explosive Plays A Real Threat To Doom Entire Season

The Oakland Raiders got a big win last week, but if the defense can’t find a way to prevent explosive plays, they could find themselves in big trouble.

The Oakland Raiders, thanks to a few timely defensive stops, and an offense that was (finally) clicking on all cylinders, got a tremendous win over division rival Kansas City last week. It was a white-knuckle game that literally came down to the wire, but if not for a handful of plays, it might not have been such a heart-stopper of a game.

It’s an issue that isn’t new. Not by any means. It’s a problem this Raiders team had last season and one that could, if it’s not sorted out sooner, rather than later, could derail the entire year.

Last season, the Raiders defense surrendered a total of 79 big plays, running and passing, combined. A “big play” is typically defined as a run play of ten yards or more, or a pass play of 20 yards or more.

In 2016, Oakland’s defense gave up 41 big plays on the ground and 38 through the air. Their offense was able to help offset it somewhat, but they still finished a negative two in the big play differential category – which ranked them twentieth in that particular category league-wide.

Not great, but it could have been worse.

2017 though, has gotten off to a far rougher start. Through seven games this year, Oakland’s defense has surrendered a total of 36 big plays (13 on the ground, 23 through the air). Even more galling is that the defense has given up a total of eight touchdowns on those big plays – one rushing, seven passing.

Which, of course, means that they’re well on their way to surpassing last season’s less than stellar total. And making matters worse, the offense – until last week against the Chiefs – hasn’t been offsetting the defensive lapses with big plays of their own.

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There is a bit of a silver lining in this, believe it or not. On the ground through these first seven games, the Raiders are giving up an average of 1.85 big plays per game. That puts them on pace to finish the year with 29 such plays – a pretty drastic improvement over last year’s total of 41.

And with a noted run stopper like NaVorro Bowman in the lineup now, that number might actually be even better by the end of the season.

Which means that the dark cloud hovering over everything, of course, is Oakland’s pass defense. Having given up 23 pass plays of 20 yards or more through seven games, the Raiders pass defense is on pace to give up just about 53 such plays – and 16 touchdowns.

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And that’s only pass plays of 20 yards plus. That doesn’t even factor in pass plays that have gone for between ten and nineteen yards, of which, there many.

As bad as Oakland’s pass defense was last season – and they were really bad – this year’s group is making that group look like the Legion of Boom by comparison.

Neither Sean Smith nor David Amerson have come anywhere close to living up to the big money deals they signed. Both are liabilities in pass defense, and more often than not, opposing receivers seem to blow right by them with the greatest of ease.

And let’s not even talk about Reggie Nelson who might as well be standing out in Oakland’s defensive backfield holding a red cape, yelling “Ole!” as receivers go streaking by, for all the good he’s doing this season.

So, what’s the solution?

The problem is, there is no easy solution. There is no magic pill or quick fix to this situation. But, it’s more than clear that something needs to be done. Something needs to change.

Nelson is the easiest fix the Raiders have going for them. Shalom Luani flashed whenever he had a chance to play. He’s young. Aggressive. Smart. And even if there are a few growing pains with him here or there, he’ll still be an instant upgrade over Nelson.

On the corners though, the picture is far less clear.

With first-round pick Gareon Conley having no real timetable to return – with most thinking he won’t see the field this season – Oakland is left with Smith, Amerson, T.J. Carrie, Dexter McDonald, and Demetrius McCray.

It’s not exactly a group that’s going to instill fear in anybody. If anything, that lineup – and their performance so far this season – is only going to embolden teams to keep throwing deep.

If they wanted to really shake things up and add some young, hungry blood, Oakland has a couple of young corners on the practice squad in Breon Borders and now, Tevin Mitchell, they could call up if they wanted to.

While Borders and Mitchell might not be the answer, can anybody honestly say they’d play any worse than Smith and Amerson have through seven games this year?

Oakland’s run defense is improving. And even better, they’re cleaning up on their penchant for giving up big runs. Their pass defense though, has appallingly, gotten worse since 2016.

The pass defense is giving up an average of 247 yards a game, making them the twenty-third ranked unit in that category, highlighted by the slightly more than three “big plays” they’re giving up per game as well.

If Oakland’s defense could step up and take away those big plays they’re giving up, they might not find themselves playing from behind. And they might not find themselves with a sub-.500 record almost halfway through the season.

Unless this defense finds a way to tighten up and stop giving up those big plays – especially, when they lead to scores – this Raiders team is going to continue to struggle. And they are going to continue to lose games and underachieve.

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result. Doesn’t running Smith, Amerson, and Nelson out there again, week after week, seem to epitomize that old saying?

Maybe Borders and Mitchell aren’t the solution on the corners. But, it’s more than clear that the Raiders need to do something to shore up their horrid pass defense and cut down, if not eliminate altogether, the big plays that are sinking them on a near weekly basis.

If Oakland can’t find a way to stop teams from having success throwing deep on them, they’re going to be in real trouble and could find themselves on the outside looking in come playoff time.

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