National Football League

Oakland Raiders defense has sprung a leak

Published Oct. 15, 2010 10:13 a.m. ET

foxsports

Not so long ago, the Raiders boasted of a defense that was among the league leaders in terms of average yards allowed. Now, they're allowing big yards and scrambling to plug holes.

The Raiders allowed 947 yards to the Houston Texans and San Diego Chargers over the past two games. That represents the most allowed by a Raiders defense in back-to-back games since the 1997 team -- which went 4-12 -- was gouged for 995 yards by the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks.

In all, the Raiders have dropped from second in the NFL (260.7 yards allowed per game) after three games to tied for 23rd (345.8) after surrendering 441 yards to the Texans and 506 yards to the Chargers.

"My biggest concern right now for our defense is to play a complete game," Raiders coach Tom Cable said. "One week it's this, the next week it's that. Neither one of them is acceptable."

Against the Texans, the Raiders allowed 249 yards rushing. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers torched the Raiders for 431 yards passing on Sunday.

As was the case in 1997, the Raiders somehow emerged from the two games with one victory, which cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha said is well and good but not a healthy way to make a living during the course of a 16-game season

"When the yards get up to 400, 500, almost 1,000 in two games, you don't want that," Asomugha said. "The fact that we won the game last week was good. And we almost won the Houston game, that's great. But as a defense we want to be much better."

The Raiders easily could hide behind the fact that the Chargers are the league's top-ranked passing offense and the Texans are fifth in rushing offense. But cornerback Stanford Routt said that doesn't cut it and that the Raiders must find a way to succeed against the run and the pass at the same time. Defensive coordinator John Marshall said it's imperative for the Raiders to stick with "what we know is a winning formula. You come out, you practice the way you should practice. You work on your technique, you work on your gap control, and you work on your tackling."

Rivers completed passes seemingly at will against the Raiders, with Routt saying he and his defensive mates wondered at times if they could do anything to stop the onslaught.

"Late in the game, we were all looking at each other, saying, 'Man, we got to hold on, we got to shore up and we got to hold up. We got to make a play somehow,' " Routt said. "And we were able to do it."

How they stopped Rivers just might hold the key to their success against the pass from here on out, several players said. The Raiders blitzed Rivers on six straight plays and reduced the amount of time he had to scour the landscape for an open receiver.

Overall, the Raiders are 10th against the pass at 198 yards per game and 31st against the run at 147.8 yards per game.

They also are 28th in points allowed at 26.8 through five games, and the 31 points scored by the Texans and 27 by the Chargers are what concerns Asomugha the most, he said.

"I don't (care as much) if they're not crossing the goal line," Asomugha said. "If they're crossing the goal line and they're scoring points with all those yards, then it's definitely an issue."Something's gotta give
A look at the 49ers offense and the Raiders defense and their 2010 averages and how they rank in the NFL:
49ers Raiders
offense defense
77.8 Rushing 147.8
(30th) (31st)
233.6 Passing 198.0
(11th) (10th)
311.4 Total off./DEF. 345.8
(23rd) (t23rd)
15.2 Points 26.8
(31st) (28th)