5 positives from Raiders loss to Chargers

The run defense is better than it looked

When you give up 176 yards on the ground and relinquish 6.5 yards per carry, it's difficult to justify that the run defense was solid.

But for the most part on Sunday, the Raiders run defense did their job.

Unfortunately, two big rushes were the difference in a dominant game against the run, and looking like one of the worst run defenses in the league.

The Raiders had the highest success rate in the league at stopping the run (70.4%) and if you factor out the 61 and 46-yard runs by JK Dobbins, the Raiders gave up 69 yards on the other 25 carries (2.76 ypc).

Dobbins' runs were pretty improbable, as he garnered the two most "remarkable rushes" of Week 1 according to NFL Next Gen Stats. This means that based on our coverage, Dobbins should have recorded rushes of two and six yards, but missed tackles allowed him to squirt out for big gains.

Despite the big plays, several Raiders defensive tackles were among the best in the league on Sunday. John Jenkins had the most defensive stops against the run in the NFL in Week 1 with five, and Christian Wilkins was tied for second with four.

I have faith that the Raiders will work on tackling this week and be more fundamental in the next matchup, which could mean total domination against the run.