Las Vegas Raiders defense answered some questions in 2021 Week 1
The Season Ahead
I know, I get it. It’s only Week 1 and a lot of things can change in the coming weeks. But if the Las Vegas defense can play at that level week in and week out, then this team will have a much easier time winning football games.
And that’s because, in reality, the only thing that has ever held this team back has been the defensive failures. The offense is top-10, and the special teams crew does their job, but the defensive always faulters. But this year can be a different story.
With Gus Bradley and with this improved pass rush, this Las Vegas team got that much more dangerous. Now there are still areas they need to improve. The linebacking corps struggled at times against Baltimore, especially when they were forced into playing coverage.
There also seemed to be a few mistakes made by the secondary, which is an extremely young group that still needs to mature. It will be interesting to see how and if these issues are addressed and fixed. For now, though, this defense will take any bit of improvement that they can get. And they certainly got some tonight.
Las Vegas Raiders come all the way back, beating Ravens in OT
The Las Vegas Raiders needed overtime to defeat the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1, but it was a win that could springboard them to a successful 2021 campaign.
This group will have some difficult challenges ahead. Next week they’ll be playing the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have talented weapons like Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool. And of course, they’ll face the offenses of the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers in the near future. Those games will be the real test, and it will show us whether this improved Las Vegas defense is the real deal or not.