Raiders' Plan When Mahomes Turns Into 'The Magician'

When the Las Vegas Raiders face off against quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, they face numerous difficulties.

Those difficulties are complex, and they exist not only because of Mahomes but the quality players and coaches he has around him. Those players and coaches give Mahomes, a generational talent, even more of a competitive advantage on game day.

One of the specific challenges Mahomes presents is the fact that he is one of the most accurate passes in the National Football League today and all time. However, his accuracy is made even more deadly by his ability to successfully scramble at any minute, gashing a defense on the ground that has spent all week trying to find ways to slow down the Chiefs’ passing game.

Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham believes the best thing a defense preparing for Mahomes can do is get quality practices and repetitions in the week of practice. Graham credited Las Vegas’ preparation with getting the Raiders’ defense ready for the challenge ahead.

"The main thing is trying to simulate it in practice,” Graham said. “A lot goes into it with the show team. And again, it's not him, and it's not their skill guys, but thankful of the work our show team and the offensive coaches that coach the show team, what they give us during practice. Yesterday they did some of the scramble drills.”

Whether defending the pass or Mahomes’ legs, the Raiders’ defense will have to play its best football on Sunday. Graham wisely emphasized discipline this week, for a talented Raiders defense that can sometimes play undisciplined. He knows that anything less than a fundamentally sound game from the defense can cost the team.

With the struggles the Raiders' offense has had this season, its defense must play even better than they normally do.

“That's important, just when you're doing the prep, and then as you're watching the tape, it's about discipline,” Graham said. “You have discipline with the rush lanes. You have discipline with your deep-field coverage. You have discipline when they do move and he's on the move of getting your eyes on your man or in zone plastering your area. So, it's a big discipline thing. And then the other part is the simulation of it in practice."

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