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McDaniels: Raiders' Backfield Will Be Crucial Against Titans' Defense

Las Vegas Raiders coach Josh McDaniels is expecting a stubborn defense that will make his team work for every success.

Las Vegas Raiders coach Josh McDaniels has his share of history with the Silver and Black's Week 3 foe, the Tennessee Titans.

The most impactful matchup in recent memory, of course, was former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's final game with the franchise when Tennessee defeated New England in the Wild Card round in 2020. McDaniels was the Patriots' offensive coordinator at the time.

Having been around the league for two decades now, McDaniels has a grasp of what Tennessee's specialty is on defense.

"This defense, historically, is one of the best in the league at forcing long drives," McDaniels said in Friday's media availability. "Which means they don't give up a lot of big plays in general terms. And I would say that when we've competed against [Coach Mike Vrabel's] teams and their defenses, for a long time now, that's one of those chores that you just go into the game assuming that you're going to have to do it. 

"It's not going to be three plays and score, it's going to be 10 plays, 11 plays, nine plays, two third-down conversions, something like that. They make you go the long, hard way most of the time. So there's nothing that I would say, 'Oh, wow, they really struggle with this.' This is a sound defense."

What will be critical in overcoming such defense, McDaniels said, is the Raiders' depth at the running back position.

"Our depth in the backfield has already been challenged a little bit with a few things here and there injuries-wise," McDaniels said. "And that's why we usually carry that number of backs. But it's going to be important. I mean, it will be a little humid down there, different than here in terms of the overall humidity. But whatever the game, what form it takes, I'm not exactly sure yet, but we'll definitely try to maintain our balance if we can. We've always tried to do that. And using those guys, the best of their ability and the right roles is going to be important, so we'll see how it kind of shakes out this week."

Las Vegas takes on Tennessee at 10 a.m. PST on Sunday at Nissan Stadium.

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