The Raiders finished last in the NFL with 14 takeaways last year. They had just six interceptions, and none from their cornerbacks. It was a big reason why they lost so many close games last season as they were constantly losing the turnover battle.
The hope was that in Year 2 under Patrick Graham, the defense would force more turnovers. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case. They’ve recorded just one takeaway in four games and are on pace to have fewer turnovers than they did last season.
A recent article by ESPN mentioned the lack of turnovers created by the defense and how worrisome that is moving forward. Here is a snippet of what ESPN called the team’s biggest weakness after the first month of the season:
It was a major point of emphasis during training camp and the exhibition season: getting interceptions while forcing fumbles and recovering them. And yet … safety Tre’von Moehrig’s interception of Justin Herbert late in the third quarter Sunday was the Raiders’ first takeaway of the season — in Game 4. Only the Giants have fewer takeaways, with zero. As such, the Raiders’ takeaway differential of minus-9 is the worst in the NFL
The one stat in the NFL that correlates the most to winning and losing is the turnover margin. As Raiders defense has struggled to take the ball away, the offense already has 10 turnovers.
They’ve got to find a way to cut back on the turnovers. But the defense has to start creating takeaways to give the offense shorter fields. If they can’t do that, it is going to be a long season for the Silver and Black.
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