Preview and Prediction: Oakland Raiders vs. Carolina Panthers
By Austin Gayle
Jonathan Stewart Could Bully Raiders’ Front Seven
Panthers veteran running back Jonathan Stewart is a physical, downhill bowling ball of a running back, and he has been leaned on to hit strikes for Carolina’s offense all season. With the Raiders’ hapless run defense in the next frame, expect him to down all 10 pins, again.
Seeing action in just seven games this season, Stewart has carried the ball 110 times for 365 yards and five touchdowns, and though his yards per carry average isn’t of high standard, he, like Newton, can turn it on any given Sunday.
The Raiders’ defense, on the other hand, has looked the part just one Sunday this season against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football two weeks ago, holding lead back Devontae Booker and company to just 33 yards on the ground.
Their success was short-lived, as they allowed Texans running back Lamar Miller to run for over 104 yards on 24 carries just last week.
Smith and Riley Jr. have previously struggled to get off blocks and meet opposing backs in the hole with any kind of physicality, and as a result, even smaller backs have bowled over them for extra yards through contact.
At the line of scrimmage, Mack and Irvin have obviously outperformed expectations along the edge, and their interior defenders have flashed dominance at times. However, it’s up to Oakland’s filling linebackers to make plays on Stewart in the hole if they plan to push him into the gutter.