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Oakland Raiders: 5 keys to victory vs. Miami Dolphins

By John Buhler

ORCHARD PARK, NY - OCTOBER 29: DeAndre Washington No. 33 of the Oakland Raiders runs the ball as Kyle Williams No. 95 of the Buffalo Bills attempts to tackle him during the third quarter of an NFL game on October 29, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
ORCHARD PARK, NY - OCTOBER 29: DeAndre Washington No. 33 of the Oakland Raiders runs the ball as Kyle Williams No. 95 of the Buffalo Bills attempts to tackle him during the third quarter of an NFL game on October 29, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /
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ORCHARD PARK, NY – OCTOBER 29: Derek Carr No. 4 of the Oakland Raiders signals to the offense during the third quarter of an NFL game against the Buffalo Bills on October 29, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
ORCHARD PARK, NY – OCTOBER 29: Derek Carr No. 4 of the Oakland Raiders signals to the offense during the third quarter of an NFL game against the Buffalo Bills on October 29, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /

Derek Carr must exploit Dolphins’ secondary

The Raiders passing game needs to be on point in this game for Oakland to win, period. It has to be more than Carr completing 63 percent of his passes. He will need to strike fear in the Dolphins’ secondary by airing it out.

Miami didn’t have a great defense last year and has a first-year coordinator in Matt Burke calling the shots on that side of the ball. While Miami is strong along the defensive line, there are a few matchups that Carr can exploit in the passing game on Sunday night.

One matchup of note has to be on the outside between his No. 1 wide receiver Amari Cooper and third-round rookie cornerback Cordrea Tankersley out of Clemson. Tankersley briefly had first-round hype coming out of Clemson, but he would fall in the draft towards the end of the third round for Miami to grab him.

Carr needs to be fearless in this game. While Oakland can’t lose the turnover battle, he might need to be a bit of a gunslinger with the Raiders’ season on the line. Frankly, he plays his best ball in those sort of situations. He doesn’t have to be overly precise to move the sticks on the Miami defense. Just try not to throw a lame duck in Reshad Jones’ area and Carr should be alright in his passing endeavors.

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