Las Vegas Raiders defensive Clelin Ferrell and his teammates have been under fire this season thanks to substandard performances. Against the New York Jets, fans saw some promising aspects, particularly from Ferrell.
The recurring theme continues to be the defense when we talk about the Raiders. Whether it’s Paul Guenther’s terrible playcalling or their defensive backfield being riddled with injuries. They were without their spiritual leader in safety Johnathan Abram and lost cornerback Damon Arnette in the second play of the game. At some point, we all hope everyone can get healthy enough to where we see the unit play together. On the other hand, there were some positives we can take away from this wild matchup.
One of the biggest things was that when the game seemed lost, Guenther’s squad actually made a stop. Better late than never, all things considered, if the Raiders had lost this one, let’s just say things would’ve been ugly. Ferrell himself said it best following the game.
“We did a thing we hadn’t done all game. We stopped the run for one series…”
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It Was A Big Day For The Raiders Defensive End
Ferrell certainly was right, the Raiders run defense was runner over in this one, literally. The Jets totaled 206 yards on the ground and drove in two touchdowns, one by running back Ty Johnson and the other by quarterback Sam Darnold. As a squad, the Jets averaged 8.1 yards per rush, so yeah, Ferrell was right to say they hadn’t had a real stop all game.
On a more positive note though, Ferrell had arguably one of his best games statistically in Silver and Black. He had two strip-sacks which were huge, and on a side note, he’s the first Raider since Tommy Kelly to do that since 2005. He resembled the difference-maker they sought when they made him the fourth overall pick in the draft a year ago. Jon Becker of the Mercury News pointed that out along with the fact he’s becoming the difference-maker the Raiders had hoped they drafted with the fourth overall pick.
Tack on a pass defensed and a total of three QB Hits for Ferell on Sunday as well. All season long Ferrell has been bringing the pressure so it was nice to see it translate into some impactful stats for the former Clemson Tiger.
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*Top Photo: Al Bello/Getty Images