5 defensive stats the Oakland Raiders need to improve on in 2019

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OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 24: Phillip Lindsay #30 of the Denver Broncos is tackled by Tahir Whitehead #59 of the Oakland Raiders during their NFL game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on December 24, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Robert Reiners/Getty Images) /

3rd down Conversation Percentage

The Raiders inability to get offenses off the field on third down has been an issue for years now. The last time the Raiders ranked within the top ten of this category was 2010, so if they ever plan on turning the corner, this has to change. In 2018, they ranked a lackluster 30th (46.3) in the league and seemed to never get a big stop when they needed it.

Allowing the opponent to convert nearly half of their third downs sounds almost fake, but somehow that was the case for Oakland.

This includes the red zone where Raiders were actually middle of the pack ranking 17th in red zone touchdown percentage. However, that is nowhere near good enough when you consider just how many drives they allowed to continue and result in some sort of points. Oakland was 31st in scoring percentage allowed at 44.3%, so the defense regularly left the field giving up points.

As the NFL continues to be more centered around offenses, it is becoming almost impossible to expect defenses to consistently shut down a team. With that being said, if the Raiders are going improve in 2019, they need to be great as a situational defense. Continuously allowing third-down conversions suck the life out a defense and with the number of elite quarterbacks Oakland faces in 2019, it could spell disaster.

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