Oakland Raiders at San Francisco 49ers: 5 takeaways from Week 9

The offense has to be perfect

If last week’s defensive performance against the Colts was any indication of how the Raiders defense cannot be relied upon, then Thursday’s debacle against San Francisco was the last piece of evidence you needed. The defensive personnel is being outplayed and outmatched no matter how porous the opposing offense is, and as a result they cannot be relied upon.

Instead, if the Raiders have any chance of finally getting a second win on the season, it’ll fall on the shoulders of the offense. Last week was a great example, when Derek Carr spearheaded four offensive touchdowns for the Raiders, only for the defense to give up 21 points in the fourth quarter alone. On Thursday, every time the Raiders offense hit a wall on a drive, the defense went back on the field and was exposed by the 49ers game plan.

The offense is being asked to play a perfect game every possession, and while there are very few elite teams capable of accomplishing such a task, this Oakland Raiders team is certainly not one of the them. Those expectations and reality spell doom for the season going forward.