Foot Off The Gas

In the Raiders heartbreaking loss to the Bills, 23-24, there are 2 chief reasons why a very winnable game became a “L”.

Red Zone Inefficiency
In the first half, the Raiders offense had the ball at Buffalo’s 5 yard line, 18 yard line, and 11 yard line. The result was 3 SeaBass field goals.

First possession of the game was set up nicely by a Johnny Lee Higgins (JLH) 68 yard kick off return. Russell completed 2 passes to JaVon Walker to move the ball to Buffalo’s 5 yard line.
On second and five, Russell could not find an open receiver and wisely threw it out of the end zone. The third and five was a questionable play call. Instead of giving Russell a rollout, pass/run option, or perhaps a swing pass to McFadden in space, Russell attempted a very difficult fade pattern to Walker in the corner. SeaBass gets us on the board for 3.

Fourth possession of the game the Raiders started at Buffalo’s 42 yard line. This was courtesy of the Raiders D. Ryan unleashed both Hall and Wilson on a blitz. Hall and Burgess got to QB Edwards and sacked him on a third and 10. A 22 yard completion to WR Lelie moved the ball to the 20. An incomplete on first down was followed by a 2 yard run by RB Bush. Facing third down and 8 from the Buffalo 18 yard line, the Raiders attempted another pass to the corner of the end zone to Walker. Same result. Incomplete. Out trots SeaBass for a chippy.

On the seventh possession of the game, Oakland started on Buffalo’s 40 yard line. This field possession was handed on a silver platter to the O by means of a DE Edwards sack/tomahawk chop with Sands recovering the fumble. On second and 4, Russell found a wide open FB Griffith near the sideline for a 20 yard gain. The Raiders had first down on Buffalo’s 15 yard line. 3 straight runs for a net 4 yards led to SeaBass kicking another FG.

Through the first half and the beginning stages of the third quarter, the defense played an attacking, aggressive D that gave the Raiders numerous short fields to work. Using blitz pressure and tight man to man coverage, the D created 3 turnovers, 3 sacks, and close to a dozen QB hurries. QB Edwards was running for his life and unable to get into any rhythm. In spite of the offense not capitalizing on key red zone scoring opportunities, the Raiders were firmly in charge of the game’s outcome. At the mid point of the third quarter the Raiders had a 16-7 advantage. With 6 plus minutes to go in the game, the Raiders were up 23-14. So what happened? This brings up point number 2.

Prevent D = Prevention of a W
A number of things happened in the second half that were factors in this comeback victory. Losing SS Wilson to a unsportsmanlike conduct ejection hurt the secondary and run D. Losing DT Warren to injury caused the Dline to wear down and use Sands and Wakefield more than usual. However the chief culprit for this letdown was DC Ryan. From the mid third quarter to the completion of the game, Ryan took his foot off Buffalo’s throat. His blitz packages and man to man coverage had worked beautifully for 2.5 quarters. Instead of using what worked so effectively, Ryan, for reasons that boggles my mind, went to zone coverage and very few blitz attempts. As a fan, I watched QB Edward get comfortable, get into rhythm, and pick apart the zone scheme.

On the fourth possession in the second half, down 16-7, Buffalo started at their own 4 yard line. Ryan went soft and Edwards methodically marched the Bills down for a 96 yard TD drive.

On the third play of the ensuing drive, the Raiders came right back with a slant pattern timed perfectly for JLH. Russell threw the ball for a strike in a small window. JLH took it to the house for a 84 yard TD. OK, so now were are up 23-14 with 6:23 remaining in the game. What does Ryan do with this 9 point cushion? You guessed it. Ryan went to a “prevent” D. WRs Evans and Reed worked the soft zone for receptions of 22 yards, 13 yards, and 16 yards. Buffalo scores a TD to put the game at 23-21 Raiders.

On the game deciding series of the game, the Raiders D clearly had run out of gas. Buffalo was dominating the trenches. With the game on the line, this is the time for Ryan to force the action, blitz, and play aggressive man to man D. Instead, we sat back and let the Bills dictate the terms of the action.

3 red zone possession by the offense that led to 3 FGs and 3 series by the D in the last 20 minutes of the game where we went soft … this is a tough loss to swallow. Kiffin needs to get more creative with his red zone playcalling. Ryan needs to use an attacking, aggressive “play to win” D for 4 quarters. Both Kiffin and Ryan need to be held accountable for this loss. Kiffin will likely be fired at the bye break and Ryan will get promoted to Head Coach which is only fitting in crazy Raiderland.

Up Next: San Diego Chargers visit Oakland