Three keys to a Raiders win over the Titans on Sunday
The Oakland Raiders will take on the Tennessee Titans on the road in a very tough test in week three. The Titans have not looked as good early this season as some thought they would, but they certainly look good enough to move the ball on this poor Raiders defense. So, if the Raiders want to win this one on the road, here will be three keys to pulling off the upset.
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Discipline
Playing with more discipline will help this team in multiple ways. The first and most obvious way is by limiting the penalties. Last week, the Raiders were flagged nine times for 58 yards. Not as bad as the 14 penalties for 141 yards in week one, but still, it’s not good. Cleaning up the penalties is something that can help right away while the team tries to solve the rest of the problems plaguing it.
But perhaps more importantly, playing with more discipline on defense will go a long way towards fixing things on that side of the ball. Obviously, a lot of the blame for the defense falls on Ken Norton, Jr. but there’s plenty of blame to go around. Part of that blame falls on linebackers and safeties who are playing undisciplined football. When they take on the Titans and the mobile Marcus Mariota, a disciplined defense will be crucial.
Run Defense
The Titans have a duo of backs in Derick Henry and DeMarco Murray who ran all over the Raiders in the preseason. I’d expect much of the same treatment this weekend when the Raiders travel to Tennessee. The Raiders have struggled to stop the run for two straight weeks and the Titans would be happy to sit back and let their run game do all of the work while Mariota just relaxes.
This, however, is easier said than done. The Raiders will need to have a better performance from both their defensive line and their linebackers. Sadly, I’m just not sure how much better this group can get by Sunday after getting gashed on the ground ever since the preseason started.
Get a fast start
Last week, the Raiders offense struggled quite a bit early in the game, but started to pick things up as time moved on. Against the Titans, the Raiders really need to get a quick start. This Titans team is not one that will be very good at playing from behind since their offense relies heavily on the run game and a shorter passing game. They have not shown much ability at all to go deep in the passing game.
If the Raiders can start off strong and build a lead early, the Titans will be taken out of their game plan and would be forced to rely on Mariota and the passing game much more than anticipated. Now, clearly, Mariota could have a big day and lead the team to a come from behind win, but you never want to let a team beat you the way they want to beat you. The Titans want to run the ball down Oakland’s throat, the only way to stop that without actually stopping the running backs is by developing a lead where the Titans feel as though they have to throw the ball.
If the Raiders can achieve these three goals when they travel to Tennessee on Sunday, there’s a good chance that they travel back to Oakland with another notch in the win column.
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