Sep 14, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders outside linebacker Khalil Mack (52) catches the ball before the start of the game against the Houston Texans at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Week 2
With only two pressures and one hit on Houston Texans quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, alarms really started ringing. Mack did his job against the run but the Raiders were gutted up the middle and when the Texans passed it was short. They had the lead the whole game so that made Mack a non-factor as the Raiders were routed at home 30-7.
After getting tired of getting run on all day Tarver went ahead and dialed up the 3-4 defense for the Raiders. It was effective but no one knows if it only worked at that time because the Raiders knew the Texans were going to run with the lead. No matter the reason, Tarver was on to something because the hit that Mack had on Fitzpatrick was out of the 3-4.
The fact that he finally got Mack to the quarterback was something that Tarver could take away from the game. I’m sure that the Raiders defense’s result against the run in the second half didn’t hurt either so a switch was imminent. It was finally time to finally unleash Mack and Tarver was going to do it in Foxborough against Tom Brady and company.