Amid the Raiders’ Struggles, One Positive Shines Through

John Kosko is a sports writer for Pro Football Focus, and he wrote an article breaking down the top defensive performances in week 7. Despite the Raiders' defense allowing the Chiefs to put up 31 points on them, they had the most run stops in week 7.

"Despite a lopsided loss, the Raiders faced 37 run plays and recorded 13 stops, the most in the league. Thomas Booker IV led the unit with four, while Leki Fotu added three. One of Fotu’s stops went for a loss as the group combined for six tackles for loss or no gain", said Kosko.

The Raiders' defense shows up in spurts and actualizes the latent potential hidden in their defensive line. Unfortunately for them, their performance will be overshadowed by the clinic Mahomes put on their secondary.

Their run-stopping held the Chiefs' running backs in check, with the longest rush on their offense going for 13 yards, but it was run by Xavier Worthy. The only rusher who had more than five yards per average on more than one rushing attempt was Mahomes.

"Tyree Wilson and Charles Snowden each added two. Despite a 40.2 run-defense grade, the volume of opportunities — and Kansas City’s inconsistent rushing attack — helped the Raiders top the league for the week".

Is this stat more on the Raiders' defensive line or the Chiefs' lack of impressive running backs? Who's to say, but it's still encouraging that the Raiders' defense has something they can fall back on. They can build off of this performance after the bye week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, who boast an offense that's looking to give Travis Etienne Jr. plenty of touches.