By now, you’ve watched highlight clips of Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen costing his team a game with a few boneheaded turnovers last Monday night, and the Las Vegas Raiders defense should be licking its chops with a chance to replicate that and show why it deserves more respect.
In Week 1 against the New York Jets, Allen threw three interceptions to safety Jordan Whitehead. The Jets scored 13 of their 16 points off Allen’s turnovers before they sealed the 22-16 victory with a punt return for a touchdown in overtime.
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Allen has thrown nine interceptions in his last five games. If the Raiders want to prove that their ball-hawking tendencies from training camp will carry over into the regular season, the upcoming matchup in Buffalo can turn skeptics into believers.
The Las Vegas Raiders don’t have a defense that’s comparable to the Jets’ unit on paper, but that doesn’t mean they’re incapable of taking advantage of a sloppy passing attack. In order to turn in a quality defensive performance against a turnover-prone offense, the Raiders must find ways to ramp their pass rush, and the defensive backs have to make game-changing plays.
Let’s examine three roster moves that the Raiders can make on defense to extend Allen’s streak of turnover woes.
Las Vegas Raiders should increase Malcolm Koonce’s snap count
Malcolm Koonce didn’t make the strongest case for more snaps, but he’s more likely to get his hands on Allen than Tyree Wilson if the Raiders plan to collapse the pocket with four defensive linemen.
For the majority of his snaps, Wilson was the last defensive lineman out of stance in a rush to the quarterback. The Las Vegas Raiders cannot afford to have a front-line defender a couple of steps behind his teammates with another mobile quarterback under center.
In Week 1, Wilson played 32 defensive snaps while Koonce took the field for 17 defensive snaps. According to Pro Football Focus, they both registered one hurry, though the latter may have recorded multiple pressures with more playing time.
Quarterback Russell Wilson had an average of 2.7 seconds in the pocket before he threw the ball or faced pressure, which tied for fifth in terms of signal-callers with the most time in a clean pocket.
Fortunately for the Raiders defense, Wilson only threw two touchdown passes with ample time to survey the field, but the unit cannot allow Allen that amount of time if it wants to rush him into poor decisions.
Utilize Isaac Rochell’s inside-outside versatility
Last week, Jerry Tilley lined up over or outside the tackle for a majority of his snaps. At 6-foot-6, 295 pounds, he had some issues with getting to the edge to stop the run or funneling the ball carrier back inside to an interior defender.
While Tillery has the foot quickness to play a versatile role, Isaac Rochell is a more natural fit for inside-outside responsibilities.
For most of his four-year tenure with the Los Angeles Chargers, Rochell lined up in the B-gap at defensive tackle, but he moved out to defensive end in Gus Bradley’s four-man front throughout the 2020 season. In that year, Rochell played 42 percent of the defensive snaps, logging 29 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and nine pressures.
In the Raiders’ first preseason game, Rochell played 22 snaps over or outside the tackle and two snaps in the B-gap. In that game, he logged three stops and a sack.
Last week against the Broncos, Rochell only played two snaps—both outside the tackle. If the Raiders don’t feel comfortable with an increased workload for Koonce, they should consider Rochell, who’s shown that he can be effective when lined up over or outside the tackle.
Elevate Tyler Hall to the 53-man roster
The Las Vegas Raiders need better coverage from their safeties on Sunday. Allen will test the deep middle and right areas of the field. When he threw a late or inaccurate ball deep downfield or in the seam, Whitehead came up with turnovers for the Jets’ defense.
We can’t expect a Raiders defender to record three interceptions as Whitehead did on Monday, but the unit must be equipped to make plays on the ball.
Against the Broncos, safeties Marcus Epps and Tre’von Moehrig gave up touchdowns on the back end of the end zone thanks in part to a subpar pass rush that allowed Wilson to move around and find his targets.
Even more so than Wilson, Allen has the mobility to extend plays, which will allow wide receivers time to free themselves in a scramble drill.
Among Raiders defenders, Moehrig allowed the worst passer rating (138.5) in Week 1. Graham should be flexible with his options at safety if Moehrig continues to struggle in coverage, and Tyler Hall seems like a decent call-up candidate for Sunday’s game.
During the preseason, Hall allowed a 72.9 passer rating, logging 51 snaps in the slot and 24 snaps combined in the box and at free safety.
Still, the Raiders waived Hall and then re-signed him to the practice squad.
Because of Allen’s rocket-powered arm and the threat of the deep ball, Vegas needs to fortify its downfield coverage. If the Bills match up their pass-catchers with Moehrig and find success in the passing game, Hall could help patch up a bad matchup.
Though it’s small sample size, Hall allowed nine receptions for 90 yards on 16 targets, permitting a 72.4 passer rating in coverage for the 2022 season.
When you examine Hall’s coverage numbers from the previous campaign and this year’s preseason, he’s a potential fill-in safety who can limit the opposing team’s big plays.
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As we saw on Monday, Allen will take multiple chances on deep throws. The Raiders can’t afford to give up back-breaking big gains if they want to avoid an early multiple-score deficit on Sunday.
Player snaps and advanced statistics are provided by Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Maurice Moton covers the Raiders for Sportsnaut. You can follow him on Twitter at @MoeMoton.