Raiders Continue to Hang Their Hat on Their Defense
Entering the season, the Las Vegas Raiders' offense was expected to lead the way. It was a fair assumption, as the Raiders invested more in that side of the ball.
Roster-wise, the offense has more household names than the defense does.
A regime change later, the Raiders have officially switched from a team led by the offense to one led by their defense. Former linebackers coach, now Interim Coach Antonio Pierce, explained his feelings about that.
"A lot of pride in that," Pierce said. "I mean, I'm a defensive guy. You love that, you love to see how these guys perform, the fight, the energy, the way they play, the passion.
"I remember one of my first speeches was, can we match Maxx Crosby, his energy, his effort, and I think you're starting to see that. Robert Spillane is right there with him, and you had Jack Jones coming in.
"You see Nate Hobbs, all these guys really picking it up. Tyree Wilson, the last couple of weeks really picking it up. Malcolm Koonce, I could go on and on."
Pierce points to the sum of Las Vegas' parts, from coaching to the players, as the reason the defense has improved so much this season.
"Team defense, though," Pierce said. "Patrick Graham has done a great job of that. I mean, you've seen different looks by us, four D-ends out there, a little bit more man coverage, more press.
"It's there to see, and these guys have bought in, and they understand. Listen, it's been a rough stretch for our offense. We get it, and it's a team effort.
"You need the defense to play well, and we're going to be grinding with our offense, and at some point, boom, it will click. It did for us in the Giants game. At some point, there will be an explosion.
"We've got really good football players. We need to execute at a higher level, but when you see the defense go out there and perform the way they're doing, giving us opportunities to win games and keep us in games, that makes you very proud. This organization, I know, loves to score points, but damn it, you win championships with defense."
The Raiders' defense has done all it can to keep the team in games and win games. They've caused more turnovers than they did all of last season.
They Silver and Black's defense has gone eight-plus quarters without giving up a touchdown. They defense also has scored points. As admirable as they the defense has played this season, it will continue to be for naught if the offense can't work out its issues.
The Silver and Black will turn around quickly and host their AFC West rivals, the Los Angeles Chargers, on Thursday, December 14, at 8:15 p.m. EST/5:15 p.m. PST.
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