The Oakland Raiders, fresh off of their first win of the season, will look to keep it going this Sunday as they travel to the Edward Jones Dome to take on the St. Louis Rams. The Raiders have had the extra three days to prepare after playing on Thursday Night Football, and they’ll hope that they’ve figured out a way to slow down the Rams' strong pass rush.
When thinking about the Rams’ defensive line, the first person that comes to mind is usually Robert Quinn, but so far this season it’s been defensive tackle Aaron Donald that has been an even more dominant force. Donald’s pass rushing has been good, generating five sacks and 19 additional hits and hurries, but he has the second highest run defense grade among defensive tackles at +16.3 and has 17 total run stops, generating a Run Stop Percentage of 12.1%, also second best among DT’s.
The Raiders have struggled running the ball off the left guard, a spot that will see a good share of snaps across from Donald. Their left guards, Gabe Jackson (injured) and Khalif Barnes, have combined for a -8.9 run blocking grade at the position this season. The Raiders’ run game has been pretty inconsistent all season, so look for them to avoid running the ball at Donald and to get creative with blocking in order to spring some holes forRaider runners.
Here are three other players from each team to look for this Sunday:
Oakland Raiders
Donald Penn – Penn has allowed 19 total QB pressures, but only one sack and one hit allowed, giving him the sixth best Pass Blocking Efficiency among tackles of 96.8.
Khalil Mack – Mack’s 33 run stops are 15 more than the next best 3-4 outside linebacker, and his +25.5 run defense grade is the best (second best is +8.1).
Antonio D. Smith – Smith has only one sack but 30 total pressures, giving him a Pass Rush Productivity of 8.2, seventh best among 3-4 defensive ends.
St. Louis Rams
Robert Quinn – Quinn has a pass rush grade of +15.9, the fourth highest pass rush grade among all 4-3 defensive ends.
William Hayes – 14 run stops by Hayes give him a Run Stop Percentage of 8.0%, seventh best among 4-3 defensive ends.
Jared Cook – Cook is averaging 1.67 Yards Per Route Run, ninth best among tight ends.
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