Oakland Raiders: A few keys to beating Chargers in week five matchup

Protect Derek Carr

The offensive line, for whatever reason – be it a decline in performance, a change in blocking scheme, or what have you – has not been outstanding when it comes to pass protection. For a unit that surrendered just a handful of sacks two seasons ago – and was among the top units in the entire league – they seem to have fallen on some hard times.

Las Vegas Raiders

The pass protection has been spotty at times recently, which is a disturbing trend to see. Against top ranked defensive units like the Rams and the Broncos the first two weeks, Oakland’s offensive line gave up just two sacks. Two!

Against the likes of Aaron Donald, Ndamukong Suh, Von Miller, and Derek Wolfe, among others, two sacks in two games, is nothing to be ashamed of.

However, in weeks three and four, squaring off with Miami and Cleveland – both units with plenty of solid playmakers, but units not in the same league as the Rams and Broncos in terms of pass rush – Oakland’s line has given up three sacks per game.

Now, they’ll have to face a Chargers team that, hasn’t quite looked the same without Joey Bosa, but can still bring some heat.

And the kicker is that they’re going to have to do it with two rookie tackles in Kolton Miller, and Brandon Parker, with stalwart Donald Penn on the IR.

To this point, Miller has held up pretty well on the left side of that line. Parker though, is an untested commodity, and we’re all just going to have to hold our breath, cross our fingers, and hope for the best.

Protection is key, since we know that as Derek Carr goes, the Raiders go. Keeping him upright and mobile is beyond critical for this offensive line.