Raiders Dropoff In Takeaways Has Destroyed Their Approach

Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Rob Leonard knows what he wants. He knows his players from coaching the defensive line last year, and Leonard believes in having a fast, violent defense that’s constantly in attack mode and hunting the ball to force turnovers. 

For the first three weeks of the season, Leonard got what he wanted. The Raiders had a top-five defense, according to Sam Warren of the Athletic, who cited a number of stats to make the case. They included a defensive EPA of 22.05 to go with allowing just 54 total points and 950 total yards. The killer stat was about turnovers, with the Raiders having a total of nine to lead the league early on.

Then reality kicked in. Better opponents were better at protecting the ball, and the turnovers stopped happening. The Raiders have forced just one turnover in their last two games, and it’s no coincidence that both have been losses. 

Those losses sent the EPA into “freefall,” as Warren put it, and the Raiders’ -10.04 ranks 25th in the league. Many experts around the league believe this is the real version of who the Raiders are, but Leonard still thinks those early games reflect the caliber of the defense. 

Good coacching on the other side of the ball is part of the problem. Head coach Klint Kubiak said he knew that coaches like Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs and Mike Vrabel of the New England Patriots would have their teams prepared to protect the ball, and that’s made it tougher for Leonard to apply his defensive formula. 

The Raiders were able to affect Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes with their pass rush, but that part of the formula fell apart against New England. The Raiders produced just one sack and pressured him just 32.5 percent of the time, per Warren, and the result was four touchdown passes and 374 passing yartds from Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. 

Defensive end Maxx Crosby noted that the Patriots “outplayed us in every way,” and accounting for Crosby was a big part of that. Crosby faced double-teams, blockers chipping him and offensive linemen sliding over to help out, but it wasn’t something Crosby hasn’t seen before.  

That slowed down Crosby, but no one else stepped up. Edge rusher Kwity Paye has had just two quarterback pressures since Week 1, and defensive end Malcolm Koonce couldn’t get home, either. 

The job won’t get any easier. The Raiders face the Buffalo Bills and quarterback Josh Allen on Sunday, and they’ll get a similar result to the New England loss if they can’t find the earlier version of their defense.