Why Raiders Defense Needs to Continue This Trend

The Las Vegas Raiders' defense has, and will continue to lead the way this season, as it is evident Las Vegas' offense will likely spend the rest of the season trying to slowly figure things out. The Raiders' defense has been one of the team's few bright spots this season.

Las Vegas' defense does not have many household names on it, but the unit holds the team afloat during most games. The Raiders' defense keeping them in the game, while Las Vegas' offense spins its wheels in the mud appears to be the identity of this season's Raiders team.

No Excuses for the Raiders

The Raiders' defense struggled at the end of Week 9, allowing the Jacksonville Jaguars to score at will late in the game. Las Vegas' defense spent over 40 minutes on the field during that overtime loss. Making matters worse, the Raiders' defense played well over the game's first three quarters.

There were several things that factored into the defense's late collapse that was outside of their control. Still, following their Week 9 loss to the Jaguars, Raiders Defensive Coordinator, Patrick Graham noted that neither he nor his unit would make excuses.

"There's never any excuses. One, I got to do a better job of getting them prepared during the week. That starts there with me. Some of the issues that came up, the guys were trying. There were plenty of good tackles and just the consistency, but again, it starts with me just making sure that we're tracking the near hip, trusting to shoot, and just doing a good job of getting our eyes where they need to be and pursuing through it, and just with the right angles. But I just got to find ways to just keep emphasizing it and making sure that it's consistent throughout," Graham said.

Las Vegas' defense had a productive outing in Week 10 against the Denver Broncos, forcing multiple turnovers. In Week 11, the unit hopes to pick up where they left off.