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

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OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 09: Arden Key #99 of the Oakland Raiders puts the pass pressure on quarterback Joshua Dobbs #5 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the third quarter of their NFL football game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on December 9, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Pressure rate

Every Raiders fan knows about the abysmal pass rush the team put on the field in 2018. And even with some additions, Oakland will still be relying on a plethora of young players to get after the quarterback. A while it would be nice to see the Raiders increase their sack total this season, the first step is being able to apply pressure. The Raiders ranked dead last in pressure rate at 22.5% according to football outsiders as quarterbacks barely noticed the rush even existed.

The reason to focus more on pressure and less on the sack total is that the ability to provide pressure can drastically alter an opposing quarterback. For example, Jared Goff ranked 4th in passer rating from a clean pocket but dropped to 22 when under pressure according to PFF. Plenty of other quarterbacks face these same issues.

So for the Raiders, they simply need to focus on pressuring the quarterback in 2019. The sacks will come as a result of pressure, however a player with a high-pressure rate, but a lower sack rate is still a very impactful player.

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