The Las Vegas Raiders are coming off an embarrassing loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 9. It was their fifth loss in the last six games, and apparently they had seen enough of Kirk Cousins, as it led them to trade the veteran quarterback and go ahead with young quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
However, the Raiders still have plenty of problems to address as a team. The 49ers scored touchdowns on long drives on each of their first three possessions, and Las Vegas is one game away from setting the record for most consecutive games allowing 30 points or more. The defense is bad.
The offense also had five turnovers and couldn’t hang long enough with San Francisco. That is why they couldn't make the plays needed to steal the game on the road. That said, let’s look at the advanced stats for Week 9 of the NFL season, which includes a big shift on defense.
Las Vegas Raiders key advanced stats for Week 9 vs. 49ers
Raiders played tons of man coverage
Rob Leonard's defense has been struggling for the last six weeks, and the young play-caller is looking for answers. He have been trying every angle to stop the 49ers, as this week, the Raiders made a significant switch to man coverage.
Las Vegas played their highest percentage of man coverage this year at 33 percent, up 7 percent from their usual mark. For the secondary, it paid off, with Jermod McCoy looking comfortable for the first time all season. He was targeted twice and forced incompletions on both plays.
However, Brock Purdy ran for first downs and a touchdown, as the man coverage left the Raiders in a bind when it came to QB scrambles. It will be interesting to see if Las Vegas continues this trend going forward.
DJ Glaze shines against Nick Bosa
A surprise player for the Raiders this year has been right tackle DJ Glaze. Glaze was expected to be replaced this offseason, but John Spytek decided to give him a chance to start, and on Sunday, fans saw his growth on full display.
Glaze had 10 snaps against former All-Pro defensive end Nick Bosa, and he didn’t give up pressure on any of those reps. Many of the reps were one-on-one situations without chip help, so Glaze held his own against one of the best in football.
Of course, you could make the case that Bosa was coming off an injury and was a bit rusty, but it was still a great performance. If Glaze can keep this up, there could be a nice payday for him this offseason.
Raiders defense attempted to manufacture pressure
As we just discussed, Leonard tried man coverage a lot in Week 9, and one reason he did so was an attempt to manufacture pressure. The Raiders went after the quarterback with multiple rushers, but unfortunately, to no avail.
The Raiders blitzed 40 percent of the time against the 49ers. However, it led to only one sack, and Purdy was quite successful against the blitz. He went 8-for-12 and threw for 107 yards, and a touchdown.
Whatever answers Leonard and the coaching staff are searching for haven't been found yet. They will go back to the drawing board this Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks with hopefully a much better plan.
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