The Raiders’ offense was looking quite dominant to start the season, that is until they encountered the Chargers’ defense on Monday night.
Los Angeles held QB Derek Carr to 51 yards and one first down in the first half, which are some brutally striking numbers for someone who was leading the NFL in passing yards and had four receivers with more than 200 yards coming into the contest.
Despite throwing two touchdowns, both that came in the third quarter, Carr was only able to throw for 196 yards and he was picked off once by Derwin James after averaging over 400 per game in the first three weeks.
Edge defender Joey Bosa understood that the key to neutralizing the Raiders was by getting into the face of Carr early and often, which they successfully did.
“We knew once we hit him a few times, he really gets shook,” Bosa said. “And you saw on (Covington’s) sack, he was pretty much curling into a ball before we even got back there. Great dude, great player…but we know once you get pressure on him, he kind of shuts down.”
L.A. sacked Carr four times, with four different players picking one up, Bosa, Covington, Kyler Fackrell, and Jerry Tillery. On top of that, Carr was hit seven times.
Like against Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, the Chargers kept Carr in the pocket, a tight one, which forced him to get rid of the ball quickly and make erratic throws.
If Los Angeles’ secondary and pass rush continues to go hand in hand on a weekly basis, opposing quarterbacks are going to have a difficult time finding success.