Raiders by the numbers in Week 3 vs. Patriots

Raiders Wire continues it’s coverage of Raiders stats and analytics looking at the numbers from Week 3

Raider Nation is still a mess after a disappointing showing in Foxboro, MA. The Las Vegas Raiders were dominated in the second half and ended up losing 36-20 for their first loss of the season.

This week the numbers dive into the game plan for both teams and how it affected the outcome. Let’s dive in and see what we can find.

The Patriots forced QB Derek Carr to be aggressive

Before this game, Derek Carr has had a reputation of unwillingness to throw the ball downfield. His IAY(Intended air yards) has always been on the bottom half of the league, and this year was no different. Bill Belichick exploited that tendency last Sunday, forcing Carr to be aggressive, and it made him uncomfortable.

Carr achieved his highest IAY of the season of 7.8 and was fifth in aggressive rate according to next-gen stats at 21%. The Patriots defense was spying running backs out of the backfield with tight coverage on the back end. Carr had no choice but to throw the ball down the field as Belichick was not letting the Raiders offense win with the usual 500 paper cuts.

Raiders have to go back to the drawing board after this, and fans might see Carr have his most aggressive season if teams adapt this game plan against him. It will be interesting to see if this was just Belichick’s genius or if the league can copy.

Raiders’ defense struggled to tackle

The Raiders defense is the weak spot for this team through three weeks with the unit not having a good performance yet. The trend continued Week 3 with the defense giving up 250 yards rushing on 38 carries to the Patriots team with a great running game. The main reason for this is the team can’t tackle right now.

According to Pro Football Focus, the Raiders missed 12 tackles last week. Their total for the full season is at 35 right now, which is second to last with only the terrible jets ahead of them.  Cory Littleton missed one tackle in 2019 and now has missed six on the season. It has caused sloppy play for every fan to see and big gashing holes up the middle.

The defense has to clean this up right away with a great Bills team coming into town that is 3-0. A defense can’t average 12 missed tackles a game and be successful. If the Raiders want to make a playoff run, it won’t be possible if this stat continues to pile up.

Trayvon Mullen shined in coverage

While the Raiders defense did not have an exciting showing, to say the least, one player continues to stand out. Trayvon Mullen played his best game of the season Sunday with an excellent performance in coverage that helped him make the Pro Football Focus players of the week column.

Mullen was targeted four times and allowing only one catch for a total of eight yards. His passer rating allowed was 39.0, which is the equivalent to throwing the ball into the ground every play. He led the league with three pass deflections and was all over the field and the Patriots receivers.

Mullen has been the standout player for this defense so far that struggling to stop anyone after three games. He is holding his own on his side of the field. Mullen looks like he has taken the next step in his development as a pro in the NFL. The sky is the limit for the young corner.

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