Oakland Raiders: The good, bad, and ugly from week two loss to Denver
By Kevin Saito
Ugliest: Run Defense
Two games in, the Raiders have given up a whole lot of yards on the ground. Both the Rams (Todd Gurley) and now the Broncos (Phillip Lindsay) have had backs go over the century mark.
Gurley rushed for 108 yards on 20 carries – a healthy average of 5.4 yards per carry, while Lindsay powered out 107 yards on just 14 carries – a bloated average of 7.6 yards per rush.
Not exactly what you want to see from a rebuilt defensive front that was supposed to be better on run defense.
Not having Justin Ellis – by far, their best run defender – and losing P.J. Hall hasn’t helped, to be sure. But, overall, letting the Rams pile up 140 yards on the ground, and then surrendering 168 total rushing yards to a Broncos backfield that shouldn’t be putting up those kinds of numbers, is inexcusable.
Next. Derek Carr Seeing The Worm Turn Quickly. dark
It’s incumbent upon the guys left on the field to step up and make plays. The inability to slow down the opposition’s run game is helping kill this defense – especially in the second half. They’re allowing teams to dictate the pace and tempo of the game, as well as milk the clock.
The 308 yards they’ve given up on the ground rank them thirty-first in the league, and the gaudy average of 5.7 yards per rush they’re surrendering rank them dead last – thirty-second out of thirty-two teams.
Clearly, with a pass defense that’s ranked just outside the top-ten, it’s incumbent upon the run defense to step up and make some plays, and stop dragging the defense, as a whole, down.