Oakland Raiders: The good, bad, and ugly in season opening loss to Rams

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OAKLAND, CA – SEPTEMBER 10: Jared Goff #16 of the Los Angeles Rams looks to pass against the Oakland Raiders during their NFL game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on September 10, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Ugly: Lack Of A Pass Rush / Total Defensive Collapse

There are a lot of things that went into the loss against the Rams. The lack of a solid and consistent defensive pass rush being one among them. Now, before anybody gets on the, “If we only had Khalil” wagon, not even Khalil Mack likely would have altered the outcome of the game.

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As good as Mack is – and he’s great – he still needs help. As his four years in Oakland, coupled with Chicago’s loss to Green Bay, despite his monster night, can attest to.

The problem with Oakland’s pass rush is not that Mack is no longer in a Silver and Black uniform – though, it doesn’t help – it’s that nobody is stepping up to help fill the void. Nobody.

Bruce Irvin notched Oakland’s lone sack of the game, but that was early in the second quarter, and nobody really got close to Jared Goff again after that. Not Maurice Hurst. Not P.J. Hall. Not Justin Ellis (no shocker there). Not Frostee Rucker. Not Arden Key. Nobody.

With or without Mack, Oakland needs somebody to step up and figure out how to put consistent heat on the quarterback. Goff had enough time to sit back, have a sandwich, and do a crossword before he decided where to put the ball in that second half.

And he carved up Oakland’s defense over the last 30 minutes of play.

In the first half, Oakland’s defense held him to four-of-10 passing for 98 yards. In the second half though, Goff came out and completed 61 percent of his passes (14/23) for 135 yards, and two touchdowns.

Also Read. A Few Bold-ish Predictions For Raiders 2018 Season. light

It was more than just Goff though. After limiting Todd Gurley to 19 yards on just four carries, the Raiders allowed Gurley to explode for 89 yards on 16 carries in the second half, pushing him over the century mark for the game.

Part of it was the amount of time the defense spent on the field. Bad game planning and poorer execution led the Raiders to hold the ball for just 10 minutes in the second half. That’s a lot of time for a defense to be on the field. It’s no wonder they were gassed.

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