Rob Leonard got a solid first crack at running the Raiders’ defense, but Week 2 brings a different kind of test. Las Vegas heads to Los Angeles to face the Chargers, and the secondary’s biggest flaw from the opener is the kind that can get punished fast.
The Raiders did a lot right against Miami. Treydan Stukes opened his NFL debut with an interception, Jeremy Chinn forced the fumble that Las Vegas recovered to help seal the win, and the back end played well enough to support multiple effort sacks from the defensive line. The numbers looked strong too: the Raiders broke up six passes, held Malik Willis to 220 passing yards and no touchdowns, and kept Miami to 13 points.
But the tape still told a different story. The secondary gave up the explosive plays that fueled Miami’s scoring chances, and that’s where the concern lives. Las Vegas allowed 95 yards after the catch, missed four tackles, and surrendered five completions of 25 yards or more in the air.
Some of that damage came from simple rookie mistakes. Stukes and Darien Porter were late getting their heads around on a few throws, which is the kind of issue that can be cleaned up.
Other times, the Raiders were too deep and gave up underneath completions on third-and-long or in obvious prevent situations. However it happened, Miami found chunk gains without much help from its run game.
That becomes a bigger problem if Porter can’t go in Week 2. Zeke Masses, a rookie fifth-rounder, would be in line to step in, which would only add more youth to a back end that already showed its inexperience at times.
The most glaring breakdown came late in the first half on Caleb Douglas’ 25-yard catch. Stukes and Eric Stokes didn’t appear to be on the same page about how deep the route should be carried, and the result put Miami in field-goal range.
Stokes also had trouble with Douglas on a pair of other snaps, getting his hips turned the wrong way and unable to recover in time on out routes that picked up 13 and 14 yards. Both went for first downs on scoring drives.
Douglas also beat veteran Taron Johnson with a simple upper-body fake at the top of the route and turned it into a 30-yard gain. Stukes had another misread in the second half when he bit too hard on play action or thought a screen was coming, lost his depth, and helped open the door for a 25-yard catch. Porter was also too far behind Chris Bell on a crossing route on the first big play of another scoring drive.
Malik Washington added two more explosive completions, one for 30 yards and another for 26. In those cases, the defense appeared to be in the right call, and Willis made a great throw on one of them. Johnson had a chance to break sooner on one, but sometimes the offense just wins the rep.
The warning for Las Vegas is obvious. The Chargers are not Miami.
Justin Herbert is “the if man,” but “if” has turned into “when” so much vs. the Raiders. And compared with the Dolphins, Los Angeles brings a better quarterback, better play-caller, better pass-catching weapons, better offensive tackles and, if it reaches its ceiling, a rushing attack that could be just as dangerous.
That’s why the Raiders can’t carry over the same busted coverages and missed tackles. They misread a few screens in Week 1, following the bait instead of recognizing what was being set up, but the real issue was the chunk plays. Against a Chargers team that has Quentin Johnston, Ladd McConkey if he plays, and two tight end threats Miami simply didn’t have, those mistakes could turn into a much longer afternoon.
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Raiders Suddenly Carry Real Pressure Into Their First AFC West Test
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Now comes the first true AFC West test, and it arrives at a tricky moment for the Chargers after an upset loss of their own. For Las Vegas, the opener bought some breathing room, but it also raised the standard, because a divisional game like this tends to say more about a team than a season opener ever can. The Raiders no longer just get to talk about progress under Kubiak, they have to show it against a familiar opponent that will be looking to answer back. [Read more 🡒]