Raiders' D Held Up as Long as They Could vs. Steelers

The Las Vegas Raiders knew going into the season that the defense would be a work in progress, but it has been tough sledding so far.

The Las Vegas Raiders made plenty of additions to their defense going into this season. However, Las Vegas accurately self-scouted and knew ahead of time that the defense would take some time to gel together and improve as the season went on.

The fact of the matter is, the defense has improved, but through three games, they've consistently been put in situations that set them up for failure.

For instance, after giving up a touchdown that tied the score in the first quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night, Las Vegas' defense held Pittsburgh to three straight field goals. As the defense held Pittsburgh to those field goals, the Raiders' offense continued to sputter, leaving the defense's weaknesses exposed to the Steelers. 

After the Steelers tied the score in the first quarter, the next six offensive drives for the Raiders' after the score was tied went like this: Punt, interception, punt, punt, punt, interception. 

While the time of possession wasn't as bad as last week, through three weeks, Las Vegas' defense has spent the second most time on the field of any defense in the NFL. They are less than 60 seconds away from having spent more time on the field than any other defense in the league this season.

That is a recipe for disaster when it comes to this team and how it is constructed. 

The Steelers converted only on six of their 15 third down attempts. Last week, the Bills only converted seven of their 13 third downs. So, the Raiders' defense is doing a decent job of getting off the field on third down.

Against the Steelers, linebacker Divine Deablo led the team with eight total tackles, four of which were solo tackles. After Deablo, was linebacker Robert Spillane, who finished the game with seven total tackles, six of which were solo tackles. 

Through three games, while the Raiders' defense has shown improvement from last season, it is just hard to tell as Las Vegas has now lost two of their first three games. 

This Raiders are designed to play complementary football. More specifically, this team is designed for its offense to lead and their defense to complement the offense, not the other way around.

The Silver and Black return to the road next week in Inglewood, Calif., to play the Los Angeles Chargers (1-2) on Sunday, Oct. 1, at 4:05 p.m. EDT/1:05 p.m. PDT.

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