Oakland Raiders: The good, bad, and ugly in week eight loss to Colts

Ugly: That Second Half Defense

It’s no secret at this point – the Raiders defense in the second half is downright terrible. Beyond terrible, actually. They’ve held second half leads in four of their games this season – Rams, Broncos, Dolphins, and now the Colts – and they’ve coughed them all up.

Live Feed

FanSided

This Raiders team cannot seem to string together 60 complete minutes of sound fundamental football. And their tilt with the Colts was no exception.

The Colts held the ball for 36 minutes, 30 seconds in the game. They ran 71 plays to Oakland’s 47. Hey, you can’t make a play, if you don’t have the ball, right?

For every play Carr and the offense made, helping keep the Raiders in the game, the defense gave it all right back. And then some. They couldn’t stop the Colts, with Indianapolis rattling off four straight second-half touchdowns on them.

And yet, Carr kept bringing the team back from the brink. Until that fourth quarter. In the final 15-minute frame, the Raiders defense was bad on a level that made Ken Norton Jr. look like the second coming of Buddy Ryan.

In the fourth quarter, the Colts held the back for 13 minutes, 22 seconds – out of 15 minutes, bear in mind – racking up 122 total yards, and three touchdowns. All in that final 15 minute frame.

Doug Martin’s fumble cost this team badly, but the defense’s fourth quarter meltdown absolutely sealed the deal in Oakland’s sixth loss of the season.