Sep 28, 2014; London, UNITED KINGDOM; Miami Dolphins running back Lamar Miller (26) carries the ball in front of Oakland Raiders defensive end Justin Tuck (91) to score a touchdown in the second half at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Flynn-USA TODAY Sports
Oakland’s Week 4 “home” game against Miami in London was nothing short of an embarrassment. After coming out strong on the opening drive Oakland fell into complete disarray. Blown coverages, missed tackles, and dropped/errant passes were the hallmarks of the Oakland Raiders’ struggles to find any kind of cohesion as they were manhandled by a Miami team ranked 24th in overall DVOA (per Football Outsiders).
QB Derek Carr was mostly decent versus no pressure completing 14 of 20 pass attempts for 132 yards and 1 TD, earning a NFL QB rating of 104.6 (per Pro Football Focus, subscription required). However, once the pressure came Carr’s numbers dropped dramatically. When under pressure he went 2 of 5 for 14 yards, and gained a sack and interception, earning a NFL QB rating of 8.3. There was limited success in the run game early on as well, but once down by a few scores Oakland nearly abandoned the run game entirely for the passing attack. McGloin himself had 19 passing attempts after filling in for the injured Derek Carr.
The Oakland defense was a mess. The mere number of broken or missed tackles alone was enough to make heads explode all over the East Bay. The secondary often looked completely lost in coverage. DEs Justin Tuck and C.J. Wilson were solid in run defense (earning PFF grades of 3.4 and 2.3 respectively), but once a Miami running back broke through the line they encountered very little resistance. Khalil Mack’s 0.8 PFF grade and Tarell Brown’s 0.2 PFF Grade against the run were the only positive PFF run defense scores of the night for all Oakland defenders that play behind the defensive line.
Needless to say it was a rough evening for the Raiders in London. As we get into the game tape we’ll focus on the first half, when Oakland was still in the game, as after that it seemed clear that the team was demoralized and began to give up. Offensively, we’ll look at the opening drive. Oakland had both passing and running success on the opening drive, with the entire team (O-line included) looking exceptionally in sync. Defensively, we’ll look at a few plays representative of their general miscommunication and confusion as the linebackers and secondary struggled to stop any Miami player that made it to them.
Off to the game tape!