It finally seemed like the Las Vegas Raiders' defense had met its match in Week 3 against the New Orleans Saints. After dominating for the better part of the first two matchups, the Silver and Black were on the ropes, down fairly big on the road in the second half.
But right on cue, Rob Leonard's crew dug deep and came through when the Raiders needed them to, putting the game away completely in the fourth quarter. Both the defensive scheme and the heroics of individuals contributed to the comeback victory, and it's hard to be too upset with the final result.
That said, things weren't too pretty for a solid portion of the game. And just as they are doing in the building in Las Vegas, we are looking to honestly assess Leonard and his group for their entire outing, with the process, not necessarily the results, in mind.
And for his unit's effort on Sunday, Leonard will be awarded a "B+" this week.
Raiders' Rob Leonard earns "B+" grade for coming through late vs. Saints
Let's start with the number that everyone has been talking about: 4. That's how many takeaways the Raiders' defense had in Week 3, and they all came on consecutive possessions - the final four of the game. This unit finished the game and slammed the door on the Saints' comeback hopes all in one.
All told, the unit forced four fumbles, had an interception and two pass breakups while also recording another pick that was called back due to a penalty elsewhere. The pass rush showed up again, too, as they pressured Tyler Shough 20 times, got him on the ground twice and hit him on 6 more occasions.
For the third straight game, Las Vegas' defense buttoned up in the fourth quarter and shut out its foe in the final frame. They had no real backbreaking penalties or large miscues that put the game in the balance toward the end. As they've done every week, the team came through in crunch time.
Leonard deserves a lot of credit for putting his team in a position to succeed as well, and he made some downright gutsy calls. With the game on the line, he dialed up a disgusting look for Shough to diagnose, which turned into yet another sack-fumble.
On the play, the Raiders begin with four on the line of scrimmage. Then, Adam Butler moves aside and gets them into a double-mug look with one linebacker over the center next to Butler and another over the guard. Now, there are six up front. Shough communicates; he thinks he knows what's coming.
But all of a sudden, Jeremy Chinn creeps up as well. The ball is snapped, and both Butler and Tonka Hemingway drop back into coverage and Taron Johnson comes screaming in from the nickel/slot on a blitz to overload backup Saints left tackle Asim Richards. Chinn hangs around, basically as a spy.
Chinn and Maxx Crosby meet at the quarterback, punch the ball out and recover it. On fourth-and-1 deep in New Orleans territory, that is a heck of a call to make. And it is the kind of thing that Leonard has brought to this defense in the early going: the element of surprise for opposing offenses.
There was a lot of good for this Raiders defense on Sunday, even if the bottom line of 27 points looks bad. Just remember that one of those scores was gifted to the Saints by a fumble, though. But that doesn't mean this group doesn't have things to clean up.
Why Las Vegas' defense did not get an "A" in Week 3 vs. New Orleans
In terms of overall yardage, New Orleans put on a show. They logged 255 yards through the air and another 148 yards on the ground. Shough completed nearly 70% of his passes and the Saints ran for 5.3 yards per carry. None of that is a particularly good look for Leonard's group.
Yes, they were down Treydan Stukes, who is the glue on the back side, but Leonard has to do a better job of hiding the group's weak links. Isaiah Pola-Mao got picked on and gave up three touchdowns in the contest. In general, the defense broke more than it bent and gave up four red zone touchdowns.
Getting off the field on third down was an issue again, and the Raiders finally got challenged by a solid set of tight ends and failed, as they gave up too much in the flats. They also need to be much more consistent with their pass rush, as they had lulls where Shough wasn't under duress at all.
Again, Leonard's group ultimately played well, and their showing was obviously good enough for a win. They came through when it mattered most and put the game away, so they earned a high grade for it, but didn't get into "A" territory because of the overall performance.
Rob Leonard Report Card
Week 1 vs. Miami Dolphins: B (3.0)
Week 2 vs. Los Angeles Chargers: A- (3.7)
Week 3 vs. New Orleans Saints: B+ (3.3)
GPA: 3.33
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