Raiders Brace for High-Stakes Matchup on Sunday vs. Titans

The Las Vegas Raiders face an interesting challenge on Sunday.

Sep 21, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; The Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll looks on from the sidelines during the first half against the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images / Amber Searls-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders will again face one of the top young quarterbacks in the National Football League. They will have more than Cam Ward to figure it out

Raiders Must Focus on Speedster

The Raiders' defensive backfield is the unit that needs the most help. The unit will be tested on Sunday when they face a Tennessee Titans. Prior to practice this week, Raiders Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham explained

Las Vegas Raiders DC Patrick Graham / Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated

"Just the familiarity with him from previous years in terms of the speed, the quickness, the ability to get vertical into the defense really quick, whether it's the slants or the seam balls. And you could tell by how they're moving them around, obviously the intelligence in terms of how they could scheme them up," Graham said.

“So, he's one of those guys, I would assume that he's a scheme guy in terms of, you try to put him here for a matchup, you try to put him here to stress the defense out. So, I mean, very talented player with good speed and quickness, and he could beat you just like that, so you got to be mindful of that."

The Raiders hope their pass rush can force the ball out of Cam Ward's hand. Las Vegas then plans to use their defensive backfield to do the rest. Graham knows Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley, who had a quality performance last week. Las Vegas cannot afford to let him do so again this week.

Graham knows the Raiders will need players like Darien Porter and others to help slow down Ridley and the rest of the Titans offense.

"He works really hard in the classroom. He's real diligent in terms of his pre-practice, in terms of working his technique. You're seeing technique improvement overall. And he has the traits, he's long, he's fast, has an element of toughness to him, he's learning to tackle better. That's the main thing I wanted to see from him,” Graham said.

"And he's growing into his frame. I mean, he's a tall, linear guy who's growing into his frame. I mean, you got to think about it, he hasn't been playing defensive back for a long time, so it's been interesting to see him grow and just looking forward to seeing it improve." 

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