When the Oakland Raiders take the field this Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, they will truly be at a crossroads in their season. That crossroads has less to do with the fact that they are playing the 1st game of the 2nd half of their 16 game schedule and that they have gone 4-4 so far and a lot more to do with where they are headed in 2015. Where the end up is largely in the hands of their defense.
To be completely blunt, the Oakland Raiders defense is letting the team down right now.
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Fans of the Raiders have to be stressed out with their squad due to the fact that Oakland has shown flashes of brilliance on defense. Whether it be the ageless one in the form of Charles Woodson picking off passes or bursts of strength by Khalil Mack during a pass rush, the Raiders have the horses to compete on D. But they can’t seem to do it consistently, and it’s slowly killing the Raiders playoff chances.
The numbers bear this out clearly when it comes to the Raiders defense: ranked 24th overall in the NFL in points given up at over 26 a game. 25th overall in total yardage given up at over 3200 for the year. 23rd overall in sacks with 15 for the season (Stats courtesy of ESPN). No matter how you slice it, the Oakland Raiders are a bad defensive football team.
Of course, one of the biggest tragedies of this fact is just how good the Raiders offense looks. Oakland’s O is the Jekyll to the D’s Hyde: 7th in the league in points scored. QB Derek Carr is 6th in the NFL in QB rating at 104.3. Two receivers in the top 25 in both TD’s caught and yardage (Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree). If the Raiders don’t make the playoffs, it definitely won’t be because of the offense.
On top of all that, Oakland came out of Sunday’s loss to the Steelers with some injury concerns on D: D.J. Hayden injured his shoulder and is questionable against the Vikings, along with Travis Carrie. Charles Woodson has been dealing with a lingering shoulder injury as well and while he would probably need to be hit by a Mack truck to not play, fans should be concerned he could come out if the injury worsens.
To be completely blunt, the Oakland Raiders defense is letting the team down right now.
One of the reasons Oakland management brought in head coach Jack Del Rio was to change the culture and add some toughness and tenacity to the Raiders defense. So far, the results are not great. Things don’t happen overnight, but with 8 games under his belt his team’s defense hasn’t improved enough over the 2014 version to be considered a successful remake.
Next: Raiders O Continues To Impress
The bottom line is this: The Raiders defense is running out of time and chances to get a lot better. The Vikings are no slouches, and games against the Chiefs, Broncos and Packers are on the horizon. With the second half of the season now in full swing, Oakland has to bear down and improve their pass rushing and coverage to stand a real chance at the postseason in 2015.