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Oakland Raiders: Top 4 takeaways from Week 3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings

By James Carroll

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - SEPTEMBER 22: Head coach Jon Gruden of the Oakland Raiders looks on during the fourth quarter of the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on September 22, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings defeated the Raiders 34-14. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - SEPTEMBER 22: Head coach Jon Gruden of the Oakland Raiders looks on during the fourth quarter of the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on September 22, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings defeated the Raiders 34-14. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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Oakland Raiders
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – SEPTEMBER 22: Dalvin Cook #33 of the Minnesota Vikings celebrates a first down against the Oakland Raiders during the third quarter of the game at U.S. Bank Stadium on September 22, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Oakland Raiders (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

1. Dalvin Cook was a serious problem, and the Raiders defense is too

Last week, one of the positives that came out of the matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs was that the Raiders were able to limit the running game.

That wasn’t the case this week. Not at all.

The Minnesota Vikings were able to rush for a combined 211 yards in a backbreaking defeat against the Raiders. Dalvin Cook was the star of the show, putting up 110 of those yards made up of some explosive bursts throughout the game.

The Raiders had no answer for the league’s top running back.

But, even worse than that, the Raiders were on their heels all game because they were anticipating inevitably getting shredded by the running game. They were fooled over and over again by play-action.

While this section is labeled to give Cook and the Minnesota running game their deserved credit, it again underlines that the Raiders still have some serious questions on defense.

It didn’t matter whether it was Cook in the first three quarters or rookie Alexander Mattison in the fourth quarter — the defense was getting sliced and diced.

Must Read. Oakland Raiders: Jon Gruden should pull the trigger on Jalen Ramsey trade. light

Meanwhile, Kirk Cousins had no worries sitting in the pocket and cruising to 174 of his own yards. The Raiders had a throwback to last season by recording exactly zero sacks on Sunday.

Even when the Raiders were able to get pressure on Cousins — which amounted to only three times — they shot themselves in the foot. A roughing the passer penalty from Arden Key on 3rd-and-18 helped the Vikings go up two scores.

It wasn’t the only time that penalties haunted the Raiders. The Raiders allowed 84 yards on seven penalties, most at key points in the game that continued to wear down any hope they had of getting back into the game.

Almost nothing was going right for the defense this week. Key penalties put a damper on any positive stretch of defensive possessions. Just not a good day on that side of the ball.

Any wild speculation that the Oakland Raiders may make a push for Jalen Ramsey might have gotten a little more credibility this week after the secondary struggled yet again.

But as far as this week goes, Vikings fans can buy in on Kirk Cousins for the time being. The Raiders defense made him look capable enough of leading his team into the playoffs this season.

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