Oakland’s offense looks revitalized, but there are some weaknesses on the defensive side of the ball for the Raiders.
Buffalo Bills Insider Chris Brown provides the details. Here is his report:
Top 3 Individual Matchups
1 – Cordy Glenn vs. Khalil Mack
The Raiders defensive scheme is designed to get Mack in one-on-ones in pass rushing situations. Buffalo’s offensive staff will need to provide help at times for Glenn as few offensive tackles can handle Mack one-on-one. Last year, Mack had seven tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and fumble recovery and a pass breakup.
2 – Jerry Hughes vs. Donald Penn
Hughes was not credited with a single tackle in last year’s game against Oakland despite playing 43 snaps. You can rest assured Hughes will be motivated to change that storyline in his rematch with Penn.
3 – Tre’Davious White vs. Amari Cooper
There’s a decent chance that White follows Cooper wherever he goes if E.J. Gaines doesn’t play Sunday. White won’t be intimidated by Cooper having faced him for two years in college, but he does consider Cooper one of the sharpest route runners he’s ever faced. And Cooper is riding high after an 11-catch, 210-yard outing last week with a pair of TDs.
Top 2 Bills Advantages
Good advantage – Run game
Buffalo’s run game got back on track last week. Tyrod Taylor got back to being a good rushing complement to LeSean McCoy and Oakland’s run defense is still trying to round into form, ranked 19th in the league.
Best advantage – Run defense
The Bills seventh-ranked run defense should fare well against an Oakland rushing attack that doesn’t have their hammer in Marshawn Lynch. The power back is serving a one-game league-imposed suspension for bumping an official. Even with Lynch this season the Raiders are managing less than 93 rushing yards per game.
Bills Number 1 Must
Win on third down (defense)
Buffalo’s offense should fare well against one of the league’s worst third down defenses, but the Bills defense has to do well in getting off the field against Derek Carr and the Raiders high-powered attack. Oakland has had a high rate of three-and-outs this season, but last week against the Chiefs they had just one three-and-out on 10 possessions. If Buffalo can hold Oakland under 40 percent on third down conversions they stand a good chance of winning the game.
Scouting Eye
Marshawn-less
The Raiders will be without Marshawn Lynch after he made contact with an official in last week’s game. Lynch is serving a one-game suspension. Playing for his hometown team hasn’t been as productive as hoped. He’s averaging just 3.7 yards per carry and has just a pair of touchdowns.
Stepping in to fill the void will be Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington. Oakland also elevated Elijah Hood from their practice squad. Richard has seen more time and is averaging 4.5 yards per carry.
Slotting Cooper
Amari Cooper had a breakout game with 11 catches for 210 yards and a pair of touchdowns last week. In an effort to get him more opportunities to make plays, the Raiders offensive staff had him work out of the slot more than ever.
By the end of the game, Cooper had made six of his 11 receptions running out of slot alignments. According to @SportsradarUS, Cooper had never caught more than three passes out of the slot in a game.
Nicked up on the corner
The Raiders have some cornerbacks battling injuries this week, including starter David Amerson. Amerson is dealing with a foot injury and his backup rookie Gareon Conley is battling a shin injury. Neither player practiced on Wednesday.
If neither player can go on Sunday, Oakland will be down to four healthy cornerbacks on their roster. Veteran Sean Smith would be the expected fill-in starter if Amerson and Conley cannot play.
Comeback Carr
It’s hard to keep Derek Carr from making plays in the passing game, but the Bills have to play right to the end after watching Oakland’s quarterback orchestrate a comeback last year against Buffalo that wiped out a 15-point deficit. The Bills were up 24-9 midway through the third quarter in last year’s game at Oakland, but Carr led four unanswered touchdown drives to lift the Raiders to 14-point victory.
Carr led a game-winning come from behind drive in the fourth quarter last week against Kansas City marking the 12th time he’s done that since 2015, more than any other quarterback in the league.
Helping Carr of late is play action. Prior to last week’s game, the Raiders had just nine plays in which they made use of play action. Oakland used play action nine times alone in their game against the Chiefs.
Trouble with takeaways
The Raiders defense hasn’t been too effective in forcing turnovers. They managed to collect just five in seven games. All of those takeaways have come via fumble recoveries as Oakland is the only team in the league that has yet to record an interception. They’ve gone seven straight games without a pick making it the longest streak to start a season in the NFL since 1950.
Buffalo has committed the fewest turnovers through their first six games in team history (3).