Game Overview ::
By MIKE JOHNSON >>
- The Raiders have been playing much better than their record indicates, with consecutive games that were close into the fourth quarter against current playoff teams (Denver and Kansas City).
- Tampa Bay is tied for the NFC South lead with the Falcons, who appear to be fading quickly.
- Bucs WR Mike Evans needs to average roughly 100 receiving yards per game over the last five weeks to keep his streak of consecutive 1,000-yard seasons alive.
- Las Vegas QB Aidan O’Connell looked terrific in his return to action against a very good Chiefs defense in Week 13, passing for 340 yards and two touchdowns.
- Raiders WR Jakobi Meyers and TE Brock Bowers are accounting for an absurd target share in recent weeks.
HOW LAS VEGAS WILL TRY TO WIN ::
The Raiders’ season has been a roller coaster with more downs than ups. The quarterback position in the NFL is the most important in professional sports and theirs has been all over the place this season. They started with Gardner Minshew before benching him for O’Connell….then O’Connell hurt his wrist and was placed on injured reserve, so they went back to Minshew. After several weeks out, Minshew suffered a season-ending shoulder injury that happened just in time for O’Connell to return last week against the Chiefs. To go along with that, the Raiders have arguably the worst backfield situation in the NFL and lost All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams a few weeks into the season. Other than that, things have been rosy in Vegas.
Despite all the turmoil, the Raiders are still competing and playing solid football. They had a chance to beat the AFC-leading Chiefs last week on “Black Friday” and the week before that they were close with the Broncos (who will likely be an AFC playoff team) deep into the game. This week, the Raiders will travel to Tampa Bay to face a Buccaneers team that is 6-6 and barely beat the woeful Panthers in overtime last week. Head coach Antonio Pierce is in his first year on the job and has job security and a competitive mindset, so this team is going to keep bringing it.
The Raiders’ approach to this game is likely one they won’t have much choice about. Tampa Bay has operated as one of the biggest “pass funnel” defenses in the league and faces the fifth-highest pass rate in the league. The Bucs have the NFL’s 10th- ranked DVOA run defense and a secondary that gives up big plays at a high rate and just gave up a big game to Bryce Young and the Panthers’ passing game. Not to take anything away from Young, who has surely improved from the start of the season, but the reality is that this Bucs team can be had by the pass. The Raiders’ running game is 27th in PFF run blocking grade and 31st in DVOA in rushing offense and the Raiders are second in the NFL in pass rate; therefore, it’s not like this is a team who will run it with reckless abandon and we should expect O’Connell to throw the ball 35+ times this week. The main targets for the Raiders will undoubtedly be rookie sensation Bowers and trusty veteran Meyers. Since the Raiders’ Week 10 bye, that duo has combined for target totals of 25, 25, and 22. Bowers is the No. 1-rated TE in PFF grade against zone coverage, while Meyers has also had significantly more success against zone – which is significant because the Bucs play zone coverage at the sixth-highest rate in the league.
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