The Raiders made the choice after the bye week to bench former starting CB Kyu Blu Kelly, who logged 0 defensive snaps vs the Jaguars, in favor for 3rd rounder Darien Porter Jr. Additionally, UDFA Greedy Vance and Jeremy Chinn seemed to play the nickel more often with Tristin McCollum seeing a career high number of snaps on defense with the Raiders playing a big nickel look more often. The Raiders also allowed 17 points in the 2nd half which allowed the Jaguars an opportunity to come back.
Porter struggled at times but also succeeded allowing 5 receptions for 65 yards and a 111.8 QBR while also adding a PBU and 2 stops on 6 targets. A trend of Porter’s season did continue however with 2 missed tackles. Despite his struggles, Porter has shown the ability to be a starting CB at times and with limited experience at the position he should remain the starter going forward even after some inconsistent play. Porter has now started 2 games this season with one good start vs the Colts and an average one vs the Jaguars, though the 3rd rounder has the size, traits, and instincts to be a productive player for a while. The Raiders saw success from fellow DBs Isaiah Pola-Mao who logged 2 PBU, an interception, and 2 stops. However, Pola-Mao also struggled as well allowing 3 receptions for 72 yards including multiple chunk plays late in the game while missing 3 tackles, a trend of his season so far though his transition back to a strong safety position seemingly showed signs of life similar to his 2024 season at the same position. With Pola-Mao rotating down, Tristin McCollum saw 56 snaps this week and was better than expected with a TFL, PBU, and did not allow a reception. McCollum has struggled in his limited snaps this year but a strong game vs Jacksonville where he rotated between NCB, FS, and SS could allow him an increase in play time going forward.
Jeremy Chinn transitioned down to the box, a role similar to his 2024 season as well in Washington which allows him to eliminate the long coverage liabilities and play a traditional nickel LB position where he can utilize his size and athletic traits vs the run while being a successful close yardage coverage player. The Commanders utilized Chinn in the role in 2024 and saw a ton of success, the Raiders went back to that role this week and Chinn posted 2 stops, 7 tackles, a TFL, a PBU, and did not allow a reception for the first time this season. Chinn is a natural fit at the position and going forward with Lonnie Johnson or McCollum, the Raiders should utilize him there instead of Darnay Holmes. Eric Stokes remained a standout with just 3 receptions for 15 yards allowed on 4 targets while allowing an average of 0.97 yards of separation and forcing 2 tight window throws. Las Vegas saw success on the defensive line, though their sack totals and pressure rate do raise a little concern. Adam Butler provided 2 TFL, and a QB hit along with 2 pressures and after some struggles in tackling at times he remains a quality defensive tackle, that the Raiders should be excited about going forward still. Maxx Crosby posted the teams lone sack while adding 3 TFL, a PBU, and 2 QB hits along with 5 pressures and a 19.2% win rate this week. Crosby had some injury concerns earlier this season, and seems he’s bounced back to full health though his 3 missed tackles did spark some long Jaguars rushing plays. Malcolm Koonce and Tyree Wilson added just one TFL but 5 stops with Koonce (14.8%) and Wilson (11.1%) doing a good job vs the pass.
The Raiders linebackers were average, with Elandon Roberts continuing to struggle in coverage along with Devin white. White logged 16 tackles and 6 stops but missed 3 tackles and allowed 7 receptions for 44 yards on just 9 targets. Roberts posted 6 tackles while not missing one but did allow 3 receptions for 21 yards an area he’s struggled in his entire career. The Raiders are still lacking an impact on the second level and it can be seen across the board. The Raiders as a unit missed 19 tackles this week which is a trend that can’t continue and keeps them on pace for the most missed tackles by a defensive unit since 2018. Though the Raiders defense did succeed at limited Lawrence’s ability to make a play deep and despite his 23/34 and 220 yards, his Average depth of target was just 5.1 (higher than Geno Smith’s 4.4 however). The Raiders defense remains the only unit in the NFL to not allow a 300+ yard passer AND a 100+ yard rusher this season a trend they’ll look to continue vs the Broncos high powered offense Thursday night.
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