Raiders' Thin Secondary Holding on by a Thread

The Las Vegas Raiders entered Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins already thin on defense. The unit took even more hits during their 34-19 loss to the Dolphins.

Nov 17, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins tight end Julian Hill (89) runs with the football against Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Jack Jones (18) during the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders entered their matchup against the Miami Dolphins, missing safety Marcus Epps and cornerback Nate Hobbs. Just when it seemed like things could not get any worse for a defense missing nearly half their starters, things got worse.

On Sunday against the Dolphins, standout cornerback Jakorian Bennett suffered an injury and did not return. This was a significant blow to an already thin Raiders defensive backfield. 

Bennett was having one of the finest seasons of any cornerback in the National Football League this season. The Raiders were tasked with trying to stop the likes of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle without their best two cornerbacks.

As always, Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce and the team are taking the classic next man up approach moving forward.

"Just like I talked about, very fluid. Everybody who’s suited up, man, better be ready to play, because that's what seems to happen with us. Sam Webb goes in the game late, and to be honest to his credit, hell of a job, because he didn't get a lot of reps, right? You can't give all these guys reps in practice, you go with your main four to five DBs, and you kind of give them the majority of the reps. 

Sam [Webb] is on special teams, and then you get a situation where JB [Jakorian Bennett] goes down, there goes Jack Jones. Alright, here you go, Sam Webb. And that was no different than two weeks ago against Cincinnati, where we lose several o-linemen, and we're down to our eighth o-linemen. 

“And it's just one of those things where I keep telling our staff, and we'll talk about it here shortly, just keep coaching, man. Keep coaching younger guys. We do a lot of periods throughout practice for developmental guys, or guys that are not getting those reps. So, hopefully, get them up to speed, keep them engaged, so when their numbers called, they're ready to go."

Pierce noted how difficult it has been to navigate a season with so many injuries. The Raiders' defense, which entered the season with hopes of being one of the best in the league, is only a shell of itself.

"When you got so many moving pieces, you just got to reiterate and overcommunicate,” Pierce said. “The good part about it, our two safeties have been pretty gelled in the last two weeks, with 20 [Isaiah Pola-Mao] and 7 [Tre'von Moehrig] in there. And we get these different corners and these different combinations at star, Darnay [Holmes], you got D-Cam [Decamerion Richardson] over there at this corner. Now you got Sam Webb. 

“We’ve got to overcommunicate to these gentlemen, linebackers as well. It takes all 11 to see the same thing and hear the same thing, and that has to continue throughout. But it's obviously a challenge when you're switching guys in and out, but that's what we're going to have to do and work on in meetings today and as the week goes on."

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