The Las Vegas Raiders are on pace to be a top-5 defense in the league, if not the best defense in the league. So dominant against the Los Angeles Chargers on the road that it begs the question: just how good are they? Especially when even the oddsmakers placed the spread at -6.5 for the Chargers. It was supposed to be a get-right game for Justin Herbert and Mike McDaniel’s offense. Rob Leonard and the Raiders defense didn’t subscribe to that rhetoric; they came in and took the Chargers to the woodshed.
Defensively, the Raiders continued their unexpected second week of dominance, forcing turnovers and pushing the Chargers into mistake after mistake. Herbert finished with 192 passing yards, two interceptions, one touchdown, and a 59.5 Rating. They kept running back Omarion Hampton under 100 yards rushing and limited him to one rushing touchdown.
Maxx Crosby made Joe Alt submit to his greatness. Crosby beat him like a drum time and time again, causing Alt to stop relying on his technique and get discombobulated. Alt had an uncharacteristic three false-start penalties; two in a row, and ultimately finished off the game for the offense by being flagged for holding Crosby in the end zone. By rule, it was a safety, awarding the Raiders two points and a kick return opportunity. When the dust had cleared and the clock showed :00, the defense had produced three sacks, six total fumbles (four forced), two interceptions and a safety.
Coaching matters
Beating a division foe on the road without your best player on offense isn’t a small feat. When the defense loaded up the box intending to smother the short-yardage plays, Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak got into his bag of tricks. Calling toss sweep flea flickers, the wildcat, set up deep shots and maintaining aggressiveness in his play calls.
Bailing out his players in the most beautiful ways possible, there appears to be nothing that Kubiak can’t overcome thus far. When his quarterback displayed a lack of ability to push the ball downfield last week he called him out. This week, his quarterback unleashed a 40-yard touchdown pass to Tre Tucker, the smallest guy on the field and another 42-yard pass to Tucker, on a yolo ball.
Activating practice squad receiver Cody White and feeding him multiple red zone opportunities, which he converted into touchdown passes, was next level. Whether defensive coordinators watch film and study past games, Kubiak always manages to have something new to throw at them.
Over reactions
The Raiders are getting better on a week-to-week basis and doing it without Brock Bowers. Does that mean they are compiling massive stats? No, not quite, but Bowers nearly played Sunday against the Chargers. When he takes the field and becomes a chess piece at Kubiak’s disposal, the Raiders will become an even more difficult opponent to contend with.
At this point, the Raiders are tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for the division lead, with a head-to-head matchup in two weeks. The remaining schedule is a virtual murderer’s row of last year’s playoff teams, but at this point there isn’t a team they can’t beat. If they keep pace with what is being done and how it is being done, it’s very possible the Raiders could start getting flexed into primetime down the road.
