Silver And Black Pride
The Week 9 contest between the Las Vegas Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars could be viewed as a swing game for both teams, especially with the NFL’s trade deadline coming up next Tuesday.
The Raiders aren’t looking toward the future just yet, despite owning a 2-5 record, but taking another loss could be the last domino that needs to fall for the organization to officially become sellers next week. Meanwhile, the Jaguars are currently half a game out of an AFC Wild Card spot and need to bounce back after dropping two games in a row.
So, both teams still have something to play for, heightening the stakes for this week’s key matchups.
While Jacksonville’s passing game with quarterback Trevor Lawrence and wide receivers Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hutner seems to get most of the attention, their offense runs through Etienne. He leads the team with 594 yards from scrimmage, over 200 yards more than Thomas and nearly 300 more than Hunter, and owns the highest grade from Pro Football Focus (77.7) on that side of the ball.
Additionally, Etienne ranks 11th in the league with 514 rushing yards, is eighth in rushing yards per game (73.4) and is averaging a career high 5.3 yards per carry, which is tied for fourth-best among running backs with at least 41 carries. Clearly, he should be a focal point for the Raiders’ defense, and that means the team is going to need White to be at his best.
The linebacker has made several plays as a run defender this year, as he’s in the Top 25 at his position with 12 defensive stops and has a 3.8-yard average depth of tackle against the run, per PFF. However, he owns an ugly 43.4 run defense grade and a 14.3 percent missed tackle rate that ranks in the bottom 20 at the position (minimum 49 run defense snaps) is a big reason why.
Meanwhile, Etienne has forced 17 missed tackles when running the ball this season. Also, White primarily makes plays against the run by leaning on his instincts, and Jaguars’ head coach and offensive play caller, Liam Coen, is known for having a creative rushing attack that gives linebackers a lot of eye candy and can cause them to hesitate.
So, the seven-year pro is going to be tested in a handful of ways on Sunday and must be up to the task for the Raiders to keep the Jaguars in check.
Don’t let Hines-Allen’s box score stats fool you. Yes, he only has half a sack on the year so far, but he’s still getting plenty of pressure on the quarterback.
The two-time Pro Bowler has accumulated 33 pressures in seven games, which is tied for eighth among edge rushers, matching the Denver Broncos’ duo of Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper and just one behind Myles Garrett, per PFF. Also, his 18.0 win percentage is in the top 20...
