Raiders at Dolphins 2023 Week 11: Things we learned

The Raiders Defense Is Good

As mentioned, the story of this game going in was always going to be centered around the Dolphins' high-flying offense matched up with the Raiders' physical defense which has excelled at forcing turnovers in recent weeks. 

Early on in this one, it was clear that the Las Vegas defense was not overmatched in any way by the Miami offense as they quickly forced a fumble by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to set the offense up in scoring position. 

Later on, they would force another one before safety Isaiah Pola-Mao intercepted a Tagovailoa pass early on in the second half to get them three turnovers on the day. 

Unfortunately, the offense had a brutal game and struggled to pay off these turnovers but the fact that the defense was able to force one of the best offenses in the league to commit three turnovers is certainly encouraging. 

Furthermore, they held the Dolphins to just 20 points on Sunday. For a unit that scored 70 points in a game earlier this season and averages a league-leading 30.5 points per game, it was an outstanding showing by a Las Vegas defense that has established itself as the backbone of the team.