Oakland

Raiders' Third-Down Defense Was Better Against Dolphins

One of Raiders' biggest defensive weaknesses showed improvement, but it will be challenged by Tom Brady and the Patriots after the bye week

In the fourth quarter of a tight game at Miami this past Sunday night, the Oakland Raiders defense did something it hasn’t done well this season. It stopped the Dolphins on third or fourth down on three consecutive series.

It was one of the keys to the Raiders coming away with a 27-24 victory that improves their record to 4-5. If the Raiders want to continue their winning ways after this bye week – when they travel to Mexico City to take on the Patriots on Nov. 19 – they’ll have to continue to stop opposing offenses on late downs. It’s been one of Oakland’s biggest weaknesses this season.

The Raiders forced the Dolphins to punt on their first two possessions of the final quarter in Miami. On the Dolphins’ third possession of the quarter, they were stopped on downs, thanks to a gift: an offensive holding call after picking up 14 yards on fourth-and-9, That was followed by a Jay Cutler incompletion on fourth-and-19.

In that game, the Raiders defense was consistently better on third down, allowing Miami to convert just 5-of-12 attempts.

This season, Oakland ranks 29th in the NFL, allowing opponents to convert 45.6 percent of third-down opportunities. In 2016, the Raiders allowed just a 38.5 percent conversion rate.

The Raiders have been especially bad against the pass on late downs (third and fourth downs) this season, ranking dead last in the NFL in that category, allowing a 53.6 percent conversion rate, according to the analytic website Pro Football Focus. In fact, the Raiders are giving up an average of 9.6 yards per pass play on third or fourth downs – and have broken up only four of those and come away with zero interceptions. (Of course, the Raiders remain the only NFL team without an interception at any time this season.)

The Raiders will be particularly challenged against the Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady after the bye week. The Patriots are third in the NFL with a third-down conversion rate of 45.95 percent.

To Oakland cornerback TJ Carrie, the answer to the problem is that every Raider needs to win his personal battle on third down. That isn’t happening yet, he said recently.

“You gotta win your one-on-ones,” Carrie told Matt Schneidman of the Bay Area News Group. “That’s just football. I don’t think that we’ve been winning our one-on-ones. It’s not just one particular player. It’s the defense as a whole.”

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