Although the Las Vegas Raiders offense played well, the defense was unable to help the Raiders win this game, so Derek Carr apologists are undoubtedly chuckling. The Raiders’ defense, which was without several starters, produced several key plays in the game, making this story a little different. We’ll grant you that it’s not ideal to surrender 454 total yards and 37 points to an offense headed by Brock Purdy. Let’s assign grades to the Raiders’ defensive position groups’ performance versus the San Francisco 49ers in light of those figures and other relevant variables.
Did the Raiders’ defensive line show up?
Amidst Chandler Jones’ absence, the Raiders’ defensive line underperformed. Maxx Crosby had his quietest game of the year. And since everyone is aware that this defense depends on Crosby, it becomes ugly when he plays poorly, as it did in this match. The 49ers offensive line controlled the trenches against the Raiders defensive line. They ran all over the Raiders, gaining 170 yards at a clip of 6.3 yards per rush and scoring twice. Despite the Raiders playing with five defensive linemen, the 49ers offensive line was just neutralizing them. The Raiders’ pass rush was ineffective. According to ESPN, the Raiders had three quarterback hits but no sacks on Purdy.
Grade: F
Linebackers
We learned from this unit’s game that Denzel Perryman needs to be extended. Due to Darien Butler’s early injury exit, the majority of the snaps were shared by Luke Masterson and Harvey Langi. Although they made a total of 16 tackles, they weren’t very good. They could both read the plays, but they were too slow to react. That resulted in Christian McCaffrey having a monster day because he was simply running through them. Against one of the top play callers in the league, Masterson and Langi were put in the line of fire and perished.
Grade: D-
CornerbacksÂ
The Raiders’ cornerbacks had a difficult game, but there were several notable plays. Regardless of which Raiders’ cornerback he lined up against, Brandon Aiyuk was doing everything he wanted. Nate Hobbs struggled throughout the game, finishing second in tackles with eight and contributing one pass breakup. But Aiyuk was consistently beating him. However, Amik Robertson made one of the season’s best interceptions when he took it from George Kittle. Tyler Hall kept up his impressive play with two pass defenses that most likely stopped a touchdown.
Grade: C-
SafetiesÂ
You know, before the game, we made mention of how Kittle might cause the Raiders problems. But he had to fight hard for all 23 yards, thanks to the safeties. Trevon Moehrig and Duron Harmon alternated covering him while making use of their intelligence. They prevented Kittle from being physical and made him beat them down the field. With nine total tackles throughout the contest, Harmon also led the Raiders. In addition to receiving more playing time, Roderic Teamer had four tackles and one tackle for loss.
Grade: B-
*Top Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images