By The Numbers: Assessing how the Raiders stack up in the bye week

Nov 07, 2024 at 02:16 PM

Carter Owen

Digital Content Associate

The Raiders enter their bye week with an opportunity to recharge and reset ahead of their final eight regular season games.

Here are some key takeaways and metrics from the first nine weeks of the season.

Regrouping During The Bye

Heading into the bye week, the Raiders announced several changes to the offensive coaching staff, including naming pass game coordinator Scott Turner the team's interim offensive coordinator.

An area Turner and his offense will likely look to improve is execution following opening drives.

The Raiders have scored on four of their last five game-opening drives, with their 80 percent clip being the second-best rate in the NFL since Week 5. However in the second and third quarters, the Raiders have scored on 18.8 percent of their drives, the second-worst rate in the league.

Due to an inability to sustain offensive drives, the Silver and Black have entered the fourth quarter with a double-digit deficit in four of the five games since their victory over Cleveland in Week 4.

"We've got to reset," Head Coach Antonio Pierce said following the defeat to Cincinnati. "I mean, it goes for all of us. It's a group effort, it's a team effort. We've all got to find a way to do better. We're going to pinpoint from this game and look at a lot of things from coaches to play calling to players to execution to situations that we all can do a much better job and put ourselves in position to get into the fourth quarter and actually have a chance to win and not always be playing catchup."

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Bowers and Meyers

Tight end Brock Bowers and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers have established themselves as the team's top playmakers in the pass game.

Bowers is second in the NFL, and first among tight ends, in receptions (57) while also leading all NFL tight ends in receiving yards (580). His 57 receptions are the most in NFL history by a rookie tight end in their first nine career games. Furthermore, of the top 30 NFL players in receiving yards this season, Bowers is one of only three tight ends (George Kittle and Trey McBride).

Meyers - who missed two games due to injury - is second on the team in receptions (39) and receiving yards (430) and recorded his fourth career 100-yard game last Sunday. He's now caught at least six passes in three consecutive games played for the second time in his career.

Category	Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers	Rest of Current Roster
Targets	127	144
Receptions	96	97
Receiving Yards	1,010	811
Yards Per Reception	10.5	8.4
Receiving First Downs	53	44
Receiving Touchdowns	4	4

Pass rush enthusiast.#RaiderNation, what was your favorite sack of the season? pic.twitter.com/LpC3nZsHR9
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) November 7, 2024

Defensive Highlights

The Raiders' defense currently ranks 13th in yards allowed per game (325.0), and 10th in passing yards allowed per game (195.1).

Individually, several Raiders players have had strong starts to the season, including linebacker Robert Spillane who's tied for fourth in the NFL in total tackles (86). Defensive end Maxx Crosby is tied for first in tackles for loss (11) and tied for ninth in sacks (6.5). His 11 tackles for loss are tied for the second-most by a Raiders player in their first eight games of a season since 1999. Additionally, Crosby is the only NFL player with 6+ sacks and 4+ passes defensed this season.

Safety Tre’von Moehrig is one of only four NFL players with 65+ tackles and 2+ interceptions this season. Cornerbacks Jakorian Bennett and Jack Jones are both tied for 11th in the NFL with eight passes defensed. The Raiders are one of only four teams (Detroit, Houston and New Orleans) with multiple players with 8+ passes defensed.

After tallying two takeaways over the first six weeks of the season, the Raiders have recorded a takeaway in three consecutive games for the first time since Weeks 9-11 of the 2023 season.

When they return from the bye, the Silver and Black's defense will have their hands full with a Miami Dolphins offense ranked seventh in yards per game (375.25) when Tua Tagovailoa is the starting quarterback.

"The second half we need to play our best football, and that's going to be our goal," Pierce said Monday morning. "And it's kind of ironic that I took over around this time last year and we played better football at the end of the season. I've got to find a way to get that back into these guys, starting with our staff and our players, and make sure that we get back in this building next week, we're energized, we're focused, and we're going to do whatever it takes to get a win in Miami."

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A view of Paycor Stadium before the Las Vegas Raiders' regular season away game against the Cincinnati Bengals.