Detroit Lions at Oakland Raiders: 3 things we learned

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OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 03: Karl Joseph #42 and Erik Harris #25 of the Oakland Raiders react after making a stop on fourth down late in the fourth quarter against the Detroit Lions at RingCentral Coliseum on November 03, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

The Defense Remains a Big Issue

The defense made a big stand on the final play of the game, but overall they were still bad as a unit, and the secondary continues to struggle.

Detroit averaged 7.5 yards per play and in the first half were feasting on big chunk plays, which have been their strength all season. They were surprisingly just 5-11 on the third-down, but each conversion went for over 15 yards. That is a combination of not getting any sort of pressure on the quarterback and not hold up on the backend.

Matthew Stafford passed for over 400 yards and honestly missed some throw he would typically make. Wideouts Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones Jr. were apparent mismatches and feasted as both went over 100 yards receiving.

For some reason, the Lions stopped going to them in the second half, much to the Raiders’ delight, but the issues are clear on the backend. Even the run defense was spotty at times, allowing 4.5 yards per carry to unknown running backs.

Once again, Oakland made the crucial play at the end, but they put a ton of pressure on their offense to play perfectly to win, and that isn’t sustainable.

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