Oakland Raiders: Run defense passed tough road test

By Maurice Moton | Sep 13, 2017

NASHVILLE, TN- SEPTEMBER 10: Defensive end Khalil Mack (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) ) /

The Oakland Raiders defense held the Tennessee Titans’ exotic smashmouth ground attack under 100 rushing yards on Sunday. Which interior defender stood out?

Coming into the 2017 season, most people spoke highly about the Oakland Raiders but followed with a “yeah but.” The Raiders added running back Marshawn Lynch and tight end Jared Cook to an explosive offense, which puts the unit in another stratosphere. Both offensive acquisitions contributed to a 26-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

Furthermore, the yeah-but defense kept the Titans out of the end zone after their very first offensive drive. That’s right. Defensive assistants Ken Norton Jr. and John Pagano put together a plan, executed by the players, which surrendered just one touchdown. Tennessee settled for three field goals thereafter.

Along with Beast Mode’s bulldozing run style, the defense closed the game on a strong note. In the previous two outings, for the most part, the Raiders secondary successfully covered the Titans signal-caller’s targets.

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For his career, quarterback Marcus Mariota threw three touchdown passes and four interceptions while completing just 48.7 percent of his passes against the Silver and Black. In 2016, running backs DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry ran over the Raiders run defense. The Titans accumulated 181 rushing yards and a touchdown in the previous contest.

On Sunday, the Raiders turned the tables in the trenches and held Tennessee under 100 yards on the ground. Murray averaged 3.7 yards per carry on 12 attempts for 44 yards — a far cry from his 114-yard rushing performance in the previous campaign.

The Raiders fielded a much-improved defensive line with a key component in the middle. On Monday, head coach Jack Del Rio heaped praise for third-rounder Eddie Vanderdoes as a physical presence in the trenches:

"“From the first snap, Eddie was very strong in there,” Del Rio said. “He’s got a natural feel for pass rush and for being stout in there. He got some real quality snaps in yesterday.”"

According to Pro Football Focus Elite, Vanderdoes pressured the quarterback four times. On one occasion, his surge toward the pocket flushed Mariota toward Mario Edwards Jr. and Justin Ellis, who logged the first sack of his career.

Many expected Edwards to immediately bolster the run defense, but Vanderdoes flashed as a dynamic asset on the defensive line, which kept Mariota’s head on swivel and offensive linemen on their backs, as captured by GipsySafety via Twitter:

While many watch highlights in awe over Vanderdoes’ physicality in his regular-season debut, he spoke to reporters after the game with a cool calm demeanor like he expected to put 300-pound offensive linemen on their butts:

"“I just wanted to hit somebody to be honest,” Vanderdoes said. “I’ve always had high expectations for myself, whether it’s my first year, third year [or] fifth year. I’ve always got expectations of how I want myself to play each week.”"

The UCLA product missed organized team activities and mandatory minicamp in May and June due to academic obligations. Nonetheless, he immediately earned a spot with the starters at training camp and provided several reasons why, on the field during Sunday’s contest.

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The Raiders went through a rough offseason with their top two draft picks suffering injuries, but the third-rounder became a huge difference maker against an opponent built to run downhill. Though it’s just one game, the Raiders run defense looks like a different group with Edwards healthy and Vanderdoes on the interior. The pair should develop into a solid complement to Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin rushing off the edge.

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