Oakland Raiders Film Room: Week 6 (SD)

Even with Rivers dissecting the defense with his precision the game came down to run defense. With a four point deficit and the clock winding down in the 4th quarter San Diego went to their run game to get the go-ahead score past Oakland. More specifically, they handed the ball to RB Branden Oliver to run up the middle… four times in a row. And Oakland couldn’t stop them. Watch the video clip below. Oakland gets outplayed in every way. They are physically thrown around as San Diego blocks defensive linemen and linebackers alike out of the way with ease. When an Oakland defender does get free they miss tackles as Oliver routinely gains yards after contact as though it’s a practice drill.

There were amazing bright spots and some bonehead low spots in this game. Still, late in the fourth quarter Oakland had a chance to win the game against a very good San Diego team. Despite facing the best quarterback in football right now, the game came down to missed tackles, blown coverages, and dropped passes. Interim Head Coach Tony Sparano was dead on when he said they need to make sure that Oakland doesn’t beat Oakland, for that was what happened in this game. Hopefully, the momentum from the positives in this game allow the Raiders to learn from and overcome their mistakes in future games.