The Las Vegas Raiders defense has found themselves in many tough situations so far this season. Some of those tough situations were caused by the opposing offense, some by their offense, and the Raiders' defense themselves caused some of those tricky situations.
Such was the case last week against the Los Angeles Chargers when Jerry Tillery hit Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert out of bounds, forcing a 15-yard penalty and Tillery's ejection from the game. Both were brutal blows to a Raiders defense that was already playing from behind.
“Yeah, I talked to him about it. We specifically discussed it. I thought he was making a great effort to get over there," Raiders Head Coach Josh McDaniels said.
"As we saw later on – [Justin] Herbert, he's a big guy that when he chooses to keep running and go down the sideline and all the rest of it, he can actually make some yards and he's a problem when he has the ball in his hand."
"So, I give Jerry credit for the effort. At that point, the burden is on the defense, you know what I mean? And so, if the player steps into the white, you got to not hit him."
"So, that's always a potential to come up when the runner is on the sideline, and we just have to pull off at the last second and not hit him and not make contact."
Tillery, while remorseful for the late hit, shared a similar sentiment as his head coach.
"I'm 6'6, 300-pound man, running probably 17, 18 miles an hour. He's a 6'5, 220-pound man running 19-20 miles an hour. That collision is a big one," Tillery said.
"Again, I regret what happened. I talked to Justin [Herbert] before and after. So, we take it, and we move on. Thats what has to happen. We have a lot more games to play."
"Got to move on, work on myself, so I can help my team beat Green Bay."
While an unsportsmanlike penalty is never a good thing, it could be argued the Raiders' defense played better after the penalty and after Tillery was ejected from the game.
Tillery's hit happened about midway through the second quarter. The Chargers didn't score one point in the second half.
Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.
Similar to a coach receiving a technical foul and being ejected to get his team fired up in basketball, maybe Tillery's late hit can be the catalyst of continued improved play and renewed fight by the Raiders defense Monday night against the Packers.
The Silver and Black return home to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas next week to play the Green Bay Packers on Monday, Oct. 9, at 8:15 p.m. EDT/5:15 p.m. PDT.
Please tell us your thoughts when you like our Facebook Page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.
More must-reads: