1. 434-478
Believe it or not, that is the Raiders’ scoring record in 2020- and it’s not pretty. 434 points scored on other opponents is an excellent stat for the Raiders’ offense, but giving up 478 points throughout the season is horrific. Keep in mind that only two teams have had more points scored on them this season, and that s the Lions and the Jaguars.
That shows you just how bad the Raiders’ defense is, and this is only surface level. Just wait until we get into the dirty details.
2. Blown out 4 times this season.
While getting blown out four times doesn t seem like the worst thing that could have happened to the Raiders, try to remember how much they were hyped up as a playoff-contending team. Also, two out of the four losses were to teams that were ranked worse than they were. That s not a good look for this supposedly Rockstar defense.
Keep in mind that the Raiders got blown out by the Atlanta Falcons 43-6 in what had to be their worst game of the season. They were also decimated by New England Patriots, 36-20, in another low point.
3. 30th ranked defense in the league.
That s right! The defense the Raiders spent months hyping up as a super team turned out to be the 30th ranked team in a 32-team league. That means only the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Detroit Lions have worse defense than them. Keep in mind that also means the Houston Texans, The Dallas Cowboys, The Minnesota Vikings, The New York Jets and the Denver Broncos all have better defenses than that of the Raiders. That s just deflating to look at when expectations were so high at the beginning of the year.
4. Penalties
Penalties are very commonplace in today s NFL, but also something that most teams try to cut down on to avoid giving up yards. Unfortunately for the Raiders’ defense, they amassed a total of 95 penalties for 915 yards. There’s no excuse for that many mistakes in one season, and really needs to be reigned in before this team can go anywhere.
In the end, it wasn t always gameplay that slowed the Raiders’ defense down, but their incompetence when it came to the basics of playing football, whether it be holding, an illegal formation or roughing the passer.
5. 389 yards given up per game.
The biggest problem with the Las Vegas Raiders’ defense is that they gave up 6225 yards throughout the 2020 season. That s roughly 389 yards per game and stands as the 8th worst total in the league. Breaking down the numbers further, the Raiders gave up 263 passing yards a game and 125 rushing yards, making them an easy target for opponents.
The Raiders’ defense needs a rebuild, and no option should be left off the table.
