HENDERSON, Nev. — When asked about the work done by the coaching staff to develop the offensive line, RaidersCoach Josh McDaniels used the opportunity to talk about the team from a wider perspective. McDaniels knew that there would be a time of intermingling with the interim coach, who made it to the playoffs.
“Whenever you change systems and terminology and philosophies, really the first thing you have to do is continue to teach ’em the why,” McDaniels said Monday. “Because players usually want to know, ‘Why are we doing this as opposed to that?’ And not every time you do that the first conversation you have is it automatic, immediate buy-in because they need to see some evidence of what we’re doing.”
That evidence was absent during the bye week. The Raiders failed to establish themselves as contenders. They started with a 1-4 record and were among the worst teams in league. Blowing out Texans on Sunday certainly doesn’t completely reverse where they stand — they’re still only a 2-4 squad, obviously — but it is a signal of where they could go if they’re able to replicate it on a frequent basis with favorable matchups against the Saints, JaguarsSam Ehlinger and Sam Ehlinger-led ColtsThe future is here.
“I think we just continue to drip water on the rock and, hopefully, we’re gonna sprout something here soon,” McDaniels said. “And that’s kind of been our attitude since we got here. I think the coaches have done a nice job of being patient and continuing to teach and the players have done a really good job of continuing to listen and try to do what’s being asked of them. Anytime your leaders show the right attitude and urgency and work ethic … it’s not hard to follow those guys. When they’re the ones out there in front saying, ‘Yeah, coach me. Coaching me will make me better. Tell me more what I can do better,’ and then they receive it the right way and then I see the players that are sitting all around them going, ‘OK, they’re doing a good job of listening and getting better, now I should do the same,’ I think that’s what our team’s becoming.”
Here are some observations from the Raiders’ triumph over the Texans in what could become the start of a much-needed winning streak.
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Josh Jacobs carried the Raiders — again — in must-have win over the Texans
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Even with Darren WallerAnd Hunter RenfrowDavante Adam, the ever-present threat to all teams this season, has been injuring and out. In an effort to limit explosive plays from him downfield, the Texans played with two deep safeties on 73.3 percent of the Raiders’ dropbacks in the first half, according to TruMedia. It’s a strategy that defenses have used against the Raiders all season. They responded to it in their first three games by simply continuing to air it out. But in their last three games, they’ve leaned into the ground attack. With Josh JacobsThe Raiders led the way with an average of 4.9 yards per 14 carries in halftime. In the second half, the Raiders maintained their commitment to the run and ran 7.4 yards on 13 runs.
“When we traded for Davante, I said it from the beginning, the happiest person in the building is Josh Jacobs by far,” Derek CarrSunday’s statement. “And, so far, we’re seeing that pay off.”
Jacobs forced the Texans out of their two-high looks — they had two deep safeties on just 23.1 percent of the Raiders’ dropbacks in the second half — and opened up the pass game. Carr averaged 7.9 yards on his first attempt, which is quite good. However, he went up to 10 yards on his second attempt. And although the Texans’ defensive game plan revolved around stopping Adams, he still managed to make nine catches for 95 yards. Jacobs ran for 143 yards rushing and averaged 7.3 yards per carry. The Raiders averaged 7.3 yards per play and were a formidable team. Houston was unable to stop anyone.
As Jacobs continued to pummel the Texans’ front, they naturally began to bite on any signal that the ball may be going his way. The Raiders called 12 play-action passes. Carr completed 11 and averaged 11.2 yards per attempt. Houston doesn’t have a good defense, but the balanced Raiders offense that’s emerged the last few weeks will be tough for any defense to contain, especially with Waller potentially returning from his hamstring injury this week.
The offense has been exemplary since McDaniels made the decision to prioritise the run in Week 5. During that span, they’ve averaged 33 points (third), gained 6.3 yards per play (sixth) and are second in offensive total expected points added per game. If teams sell out on the pass, they’ll run it down their throats. They’ll be unable to cover the entire field if they go under on the run. This has the look of a special unit that’ll continue to give defenses fits.
It is extremely concerning to consider defense.
Although the Raiders gave up only 20 points, their defense was awful. They allowed the Texans average 6.2 yards per game (which was ninth in Week 7 heading into Monday night), made 21 first downs (tied at the 10th most), and converted 60% of their third downs (which was the third-best rate). In the most memorable game of Davis Mills’ life, he averaged 7.4 yards per attempt. Houston averaged a healthy 4.7 yards on the ground.
The Raiders did not have two starters in Nate Hobbs. Jayon BrownAlthough it was a poor performance, it was still unacceptable. Mills was pressured by the pass rush, who managed to block 45.2 percent of his dropbacks. The secondary was still a target. It appeared that there were many plays and coverages that went wrong, with the secondary being dominated by a group of pass catchers who are not up to standard. Even though Dameon PierceAlthough he is a very good running back, Raiders failed to make enough tackles. If it weren’t for Duron Harmon’s fourth-quarter pick-six, this would’ve been a complete dud of an effort.
Patrick Graham, the defensive coordinator, has tried many different formations, formations and front alignments. However, none of them have yielded consistent results this year. That’s usually a reflection of the personnel not being up to snuff — and that may be true based on what we’ve seen — but it may be best to simplify things somewhat moving forward to key in on whatever they are able to do well.
Finally, the red zone was an area of strength
The Raiders have been one of the most inept red zone teams in the league on both offense and defense this season, but that wasn’t the case against the Texans. On offense, they scored touchdowns in all three of their red-zone possessions. They allowed only one touchdown to the Texans on their red zone tries. The coaching staff was keen to make sure that the red zone is played better and the team started strong.
“We worked really hard at that,” McDaniels said. “The players deserve the credit. Three days last week, we practiced in red zone: Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. They really acclimated to trying to improve in that area of our game and we saw a little fruit for our labor.”
The growth of offensive lines is remarkable
It’s time to give the offensive line some love. They are the best run-blocking team in the league. In fact, they average 5.43 yards per carries (third), gain first downs with 32.4 percent of their runs (2nd) and rank third in EPA per rush.
“I love the fight in them guys,” Jacobs said Sunday. “They might get beat on a play or whatever, you don’t never see it weigh on them. They come back in the huddle, we’ll talk about it, and they’ll be ready to go for the next play. Sometimes they even motivate me. They’ll get up and they be yelling and stuff when I get a run and I’m like, ‘OK, they turning me up,’ in the middle of a play. It’s just been a fun, interesting ride to be able to come out and train with them and go crazy.”
The O-line, as a whole, has stressed the importance to play with a physical mentality and strive for dominance. It’s coming through most notably in the run game and is setting the tone for the entire offense. And while they haven’t been nearly as good in pass protection — the Raiders are 20th in pressure rate and 15th in sack rate — they’ve at least been passable in that area.
“I’m just so proud of them, man,” Carr said. “They’ve been pushed really hard. … And watching them grow has been awesome.”
It’s hard to blame anyone who doubted the offensive line. They did not perform well last season. They also had two rookies as their only notable additions. Dylan ParhamAnd Thayer Munford Jr.Alex Bars used to be a part-time starter. However, they made a 2021 first-round selection. Alex Leatherwood, projected Denzelle Good as the starting guard and had to let go. Brandon ParkerPreseason injuries that can end your season.
They’ve proven all the consternation that followed to be a waste of time. And it’s come despite the Raiders having already used five different starting offensive lines and had 11 different combinations this season. That sort of rotation obviously isn’t ideal, but they’re starting to mesh together and find some semblance of continuity.
“We’ve become more detailed,” Parham said Sunday. “Everybody’s moving around, but now we’re getting comfortable with one another. We’re starting to settle in. Once you know how another player plays, you can play off of them and that helps the whole offensive line.”
The offensive line coaches Carmen Bricillo and Cam Clemmons, as well as the assistant coach Cam Clemmons, deserve a lot. They’ve developed a group that lacks any household names outside of Kolton MillerIn a reliable O-line.
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Extra points
• The defensive rotations are getting mixed up. There were interesting developments at all levels of defense. The defensive line Chandler JonesOnly 45 snaps were taken and the team was rotated regularly. Clelin FerrellHe played 41 snaps. At linebacker, Denzel PerrymanHe was on the field for only 37 snaps. That was a result of Graham prioritizing getting more defensive backs on the field —the Raiders used six or more defensive backs on 36.9 percent of their defensive snaps — but fellow linebacker Divine DeabloEvery snap was played
Harmon was able to start from the beginning again at the back end. Tre’von MoehrigEach snap was taken and played. The Raiders used three safeties pretty often — Harmon, Moehrig and Johnathan Abram shared the field for 38 snaps — but it was still surprising to see Moehrig get benched. He was largely viewed as the team’s best safety coming into the season, but clearly the coaching staff views both Harmon and Abram more favorably right now.
These tweaks are supported by the results. The pressure rate for Ferrell was 11.3 percent. This is second in the group behind Maxx Crosby’s 13.5 percent. Ferrell had a pressure ratio of 13.8 percent against Texas. Deablo has a team record of 59 tackles. He is also a solid pass protector; he was the team’s leader with 11 tackles against Texans. Harmon is the leader of the team with two interceptions. He also has three pass deflections.
McDaniels seems to be giving Graham full freedom to make personal adjustments wherever he likes. The Raiders are 25th in scoring defense, 23rd in yards per play allowed and 29th in defensive total EPA per game, so it makes sense that they’ll do whatever it takes in order to create some success.
• It’ll be interesting to see if Jermaine EluemunorHe is still the right tackle starter. Munford was able to replace Eluemunor following an ankle injury sustained in the first quarter. Eluemunor, who was sixth offensive lineman on a jumbo pack, took a snap during the third quarter. But it was Munford that finished the game at right-hand tackle.
Munford was very good. He was on the field for 20 pass-blocking snaps and didn’t allow a single pressure. On his 22 run-blocking plays, the Raiders averaged 6.95 yards of rush. He’s looked good all season and could push to claim a full-time starting role.
• Jacobs deserves the bag. I don’t want to hear any “running backs don’t matter” noise. He’s been absolutely sensational. He’s rushed for 633 yards (third in the league) while averaging 5.7 yards per carry (eighth among running backs) and has six rushing touchdowns (T-second in the league). Among running backs with at least 50 carries, he’s fifth in EPA per rush, second in success rate (efficiency based on down and distance) and second in first down rate.
The fourth-year back has certainly benefitted from strong run blocking, but it’s also been a lot of him handling business on his own. According to Next Gen Stats, he’s seventh in rushing yards over expected and second in yards after contact. He’s averaging just 0.1 yards before contact per carry; for context, no other top-10 rusher is below 0.6 yards before contact per carry.
Jacobs was a top-three running back in this season’s championship. Assuming health the rest of the way, that’s someone who you just can’t let walk out of the building.
(Photo by Josh Jacobs and Kolton Miller, Ethan Miller / Getty Images
