Eye-opening stat shows just how much better the Raiders' defense is in 2023
In 2022, the Las Vegas Raiders were certainly more of an offensive team with a bad defense, but they still struggled on both sides of the ball. Even though not much has changed regarding the roster, the Raiders defense is not the better part of the team, with the offense still struggling. Firing Josh McDaniels didn't […]
In 2022, the Las Vegas Raiders were certainly more of an offensive team with a bad defense, but they still struggled on both sides of the ball. Even though not much has changed regarding the roster, the Raiders defense is not the better part of the team, with the offense still struggling.
Firing Josh McDaniels didn't fix the offense, but it did motivate the players to play harder, embrace the Raider way, change the culture, and enjoy football again. It gave the players a feeling of hope, as sad as that is to say. But that doesn't always fix all of the issues. And, just so we are clear, this is not me saying the Raiders shouldn't have fired Josh Mc Daniels because they absolutely should have.
But this team still isn't ready in the grand scheme of things. That's okay, too. But the positive thing is the defense can likely play with anyone. They showed that today, playing what was probably their most impressive game of the year despite the loss and some of Antonio Pierce's odd decisions.
The defense performed well the past two weeks, but that was against two very bad offenses. The question surrounding the defense was whether they could do it against an elite offense. Well, the Miami Dolphins may just have the best offense in the league, so there's the answer to that question.
But one eye-opening stat shows how much better they have been in 2023 than last year.
As we know, this Raiders squad has been awful regarding turnover differential. They haven't had a positive turnover differential since 2018, when they were +16. Last year was even worse.
As a defense last season, they created 13 turnovers. That's for the entire season. This year, after the three they created on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, they are already at 14.
This defense is undoubtedly better than it was last year.
Raiders’ Antonio Pierce makes a rookie coaching mistake that looks all too familiar
Raiders fans have seen that before.
