Kirby Lee- US PRESSWIRE
It was an ugly night for the Oakland Raiders on Monday Night Football. Despite some great red zone defense and precision passing, the Raiders miscues in the punting game failed them miserably.
To get a better sense of how disastorous the night was, we dissect the game against the San Diego Chargers by the numbers.
0- That’s the number of interceptions Carson Palmer threw against the Chargers. The quarterback was extremely accurate with his passes and did a tremendous job protecting the ball. This is the type of performance Oakland is going to need if it wants to challenge for a playoff spot.
2- The number of bad snaps on punts that led to turnover on downs. After Jon Condo left the game with concussion-like symptoms, the long snapping was never the same. Travis Goethel put two snaps into the dirt that Shane Lechler could not handle and forced the punter to just fall on the ball. Lechler also had a punt blocked, but that was more due to bad blocking than a poor snap.
3- That would be the number of first downs, Oakland gave San Diego by taking penalties. The critical calls came in the second quarter when Tommy Kelly took two offsides penalties on the same drive to extend the Chargers’ only touchdown drive of the game. This is a habit the Raiders must stop if they want to be competitive this season.
4-The number of Chargers’ field goals in the red zone. This was great red zone defense by the Raiders especially considering the short field San Diego had to work with in the second half.
6- The number of penalties Oakland took all game. The Raiders were the most penalized team ever last season and coach Dennis Allen has preached discipline. Despite some minor breaks in concentration (read four penalties in a span of eight game minutes), the Raiders definitely were more disciplined than last season.
13- Darren McFadden’s 13 receptions were by far the most of any receiver in the game. This poses a huge problem for the Raiders, if they cannot get their receivers on track. It is nice for Oakland to feature McFadden in the offense so prominently, but he could be better suited running the ball instead of catching it 13 times.
32- That’s the amount of rushing yards McFadden had Monday night. He got 15 carries, but could not find the room to run to make plays in the running game. This will need to change for the Raiders to stay competitive in the tough AFC.
46- This is the number of passing attempts Palmer had. Considering how well he was throwing and the fact the Raiders were losing, this decision makes sense, but Oakland can’t get too pass-happy with a premier running back in the backfield.
231- The number of passing yards Philip Rivers had, a good sign for the Oakland secondary. While the pressure from the defensive line was a major factor, Oakland did not give up many big plays to San Diego and were able to keep everything in front of them.
Check back later Tuesday for my grades from the game.
