Las Vegas Raiders

Keys to Victory: Oakland Raiders at Jacksonville Jaguars

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Oakland Raiders hit the road in Week 7 to face the Jacksonville Jaguars, looking to get back on track. Here are four keys to victory.

Well, that game popped the balloon, didn’t it? I had a feeling that was going to be a tough game, with Andy Reid teams being 15-2 off a bye week. It showed why on Sunday.

This week the Raiders travel to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars, and hopefully will get their positive start to the season back on track.

Here are four keys to victory for the Raiders.

October 16, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Spencer Ware (32, right) runs past Oakland Raiders outside linebacker Bruce Irvin (51, left) during the third quarter at Oakland Coliseum. The Chiefs defeated the Raiders 26-10. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

PLAY DEFENSE!!

Wow. What can I say? This defense sucks — it’s the worst in the league, it lacks execution, playmaking, and overall grit.

The Raiders are playing sub-package players in starting roles they are weak at, PERIOD.

When they call a defensive play, it stays that play call even when the offense adjusts. There is little to no communication as well. All of this adds up to equal the worst defense in the league.

The defense is not playing as a team, and each unit also lacks the consistency needed to produce positive results.

Norton doesn’t know what’s wrong??!!! Well, maybe he has to go.

Okay, okay…rant over.

The defense just needs to apply the next key to having a chance at winning.

Sep 25, 2016; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles (5) throws a pass that would be intercepted during the second half of a football game against the Baltimore Ravens at EverBank FieldThe Baltimore Ravens won 19-17. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Terrorize Blake Bortles

Plain and straightforward, right?

Not so much with this defense, but if they can cause trouble for Blake Bortles, they can create turnovers.

Bortles has had 9 turnovers in six games this year with 50 turnovers in 35 games over the course of his career.

If the defense can create a few turnovers, it gives this offense more of a chance to put up points , which gives the defense some breathing room. While Bortles does turnover the ball a lot, he has some great weapons on offense to help him out, so Jacksonville is capable of putting up points as well.

Allen Robinson is a top ten WR in the NFL and will catch most everything that is thrown to him. A freshly paid Allen Hurns was supposed to be the perfect compliment to “AR15” after a breakout season last year, but it has been the former Trojan Marqise Lee that has produced this year.

The run game runs through a tandem of Chris Ivory and TJ Yeldon. Ivory brings the power and is a better natural runner than Yeldon, but Yeldon functions better in the passing game. Both will need to be keyed on by the defense.

This defense can’t stop anybody, but producing a few turnovers will give the Raiders a chance to win this game.

Oct 9, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) prepares to throw a pass against the San Diego Chargers in the first quarter at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Help the defense please, offense.

With the defense being so lackluster, the offense can’t have an off week like they did against the Chiefs.

They need to get back to the offense we all know — fast. Carr and co. started the game so well on the first drive and then just went completely flat, and turned the ball over too many times.

Cooper looked great last week, and the Raiders need to continue to feed him, but Crabtree needs to be more involved.

I have to say the Murray missing this past couple of weeks has affected this team. The loss of Lee Smith has also been significant.

Menelik Watson comes back this week, and I’m happy about this because the turnstile at right tackle this season has caused disruption. An offensive line works best with cohesion and the Raiders haven’t been able to get that with the injuries they have had. I’m hoping that starts this week.

An offense works best when it’s confident and here’s hoping the Raiders offense regains their confidence this week.

Oct 2, 2016; London, United Kingdom; Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue (91) tries to get past Indianapolis Colts tackle Anthony Castonzo (74) during game 15 of the NFL International Series at Wembley Stadium. The Jaguars defeated the Colts 30-27. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Slow the Jaguars young pass rush.

The past two weeks, the Raiders have allowed a lot more pressure than earlier in the season.

This week they face a very young pass rush, but a decent one, with Yannick Ngakoue showing promise as a rookie (taken after Jihad Ward *devil Emoji*) with a couple of sack fumbles. Which Carr had last week.

Dante Fowler Jr, their 2015 first-round pick that lost last year to injury, also is a player to watch.

The player to key on this defensive line, though, is the man we all know well as Raiders fans — Malik Jackson — whom the Jaguars won the bidding war over Oakland to get him in Jacksonville. We could use a guy like him on our defensive line, and hopefully, the Jags put him in coverage like they did last week rather than have him rush Carr.

Jared Odrick is a solid defensive tackle that adds push but isn’t a game changer. Sen’Derrick Marks has shown flashes here and there but isn’t the force he was earlier in his career due to injuries.

The Jaguars rank 12th in sacks. The Raiders have given up the lowest amount in the NFL. Keeping the pass rush shutdown will be a key to victory here.

The Raiders must win this game. To show they are not last years team with a bit of luck, but a team that can right the ship and beat a lesser team.

#JustWinBaby