Las Vegas Raiders: 3 defensive takeaways from 2021 Week 10
By Nico Di Fede
Las Vegas Raiders: 3 defensive takeaways from 2021 Week 10
Secondary takes a big step backward
Mahomes statline basically says it all when it comes to the performance of the defensive backfield in Week 10. The quarterback threw for 406 yards and five touchowns, while two of the Chiefs’ weapons went over 100 yards receiving.
Brandon Facyson started out well, successfully defending a go route in one-on-one coverage against Tyreek Hill on the Chiefs’ 2nd drive. It was downhill from there.
The rookie, who has been a pleasant surprise thus far, gave up a touchdown to Bryon Pringle in the 4th, though the game was already out of reach. Previously in the 3rd quarter, when the game was still close at 14-17, Facyson was beaten by Tyreek Hill on a 3rd and 2 and the Chiefs would end up scoring on their next play.
Facyson also went out briefly in the 2nd quarter, and veteran Desmond Trufant would replace him. Trufant would end up giving up a touchdown to Tyreek Hill who ran an outside slant in the red zone. Trufant lost him at the cut allowing for the easy pass and catch. Trufant only logged 13 snaps so it is not a good look to give up points with such a small sample size.
The safeties also did not play well. The game was still winnable for the Raiders at the beginning of the fourth, only being in a two-possession deficit. Rookie Trevon Moehrig dropped what should have been an easy interception which could have turned the momentum around. On the very next play, Johnathan Abram gave up a touchdown guarding against Chiefs running back Darrel Williams, despite being in a perfect position to at the very least bat it away.
The secondary has been solid for the most part this year, so this was an out-of-character performance. The last time they gave up over 300 yards passing was against the Denver Broncos, that being the only time they have given up that much until Sunday night.