Oakland Raiders Film Room: OAK at CHI
By Evan Ball
Oct 4, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Oakland Raiders running back Latavius Murray (28) loses a fumble that is recovered by Chicago Bears defensive end Sam Acho (49) in the second half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
Week 4’s game against Chicago was a heartbreaker to say the least. Several lead changes, big third down stands, fumbles upon fumbles, an awkward interception, and a last second field goal conspired to slow the momentum of the Oakland Raiders solid start to the season. However, while there is much for the Raiders to improve upon following this game, it’s not all doom and gloom in Oakland.
Oakland’s defense did a fairly decent job at suffocating the Chicago offense most of the game. The pass rush was a legitimate force, earning 15 pressures on 46 passing downs, including 4 sacks and 3 QB hits. Stud edge rushers Khalil Mack and Aldon Smith were mostly responsible for this force, with Smith being exceptionally effective against the run while Mack was more efficient rushing the QB. The biggest weaknesses in the defense came from Curtis Lofton and DJ Hayden, both of which surrendered easily preventable touchdowns.
The offense was a strange and different story. Latavius Murray did not look like himself. The interception might show up on Derek Carr’s stat sheet, but it belongs entirely to Murray. Carr played fairly well for the second week in a row. His average yards per attempt dropped from the previous two games to 5.9 YPA, but he also had 4 big drops to deal with. Unfortunately the rest of the personnel around him simply did not play up to par.
This week we’ll look at a bad play and a good play on each side of the ball to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of this Raiders team so far in the season.
Next: Inefficiency in the Flat