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The Las Vegas Raiders defense has struggled for most of the season but they’ve stepped up at time recently. There’s still a lot of work to do but they absolutely dominated the Denver Broncos’ offense on Sunday. The team was en route to keeping the Broncos from scoring a touchdown until Drew Lock hit DaeSean Hamilton for some garbage time points.
Now, the Raiders’ defense hasn’t proven anything until they can have success against a good offense but they’ve been showing some promising signs as of late. Running back Josh Jacobs gave his thoughts on the defensive performance after the game.
“Them boys went crazy,” Jacobs said. “It was fun to see them celebrating after good plays. They were flying around and making plays and having fun. They weren’t thinking too much. Hopefully, we can translate that to next week.”
One of the biggest defensive plays of the game came on a Jeff Heath interception in the end zone. Jacobs took note of that play.
“I told [Devontae Booker] that there was going to be a pick on the next play,” Jacobs said. “They kept doing under routes and crossing routes and I knew we were going to step in and pick one off. That play took the life out of [the Broncos].”
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Jon Gruden Praises Nicholas Morrow
This past offseason, the Raiders completely overhauled their linebacking corps. The only man to survive was Nicholas Morrow. He’s had a lesser role this season because of the addition of Cory Littleton but he has one of his best games on Sunday.
“He’s just a really good player,” Jon Gruden said of Morrow. “But I think at this point in his career, I think his experience in the system shows. I think his confidence in himself is showing, and I thought he cut it loose today and really had his best game as a Raider. … He’s such a great kid coming from a small school, it was quite a transition for him. Changing coaches, changing systems. I think he’s going to be a really good linebacker in this league for a while.”
Considering the fact that Littleton has been a huge disappointment this season, Morrow may have earned more snaps. He’s been with the team for a while and it looks like he’s finally coming into his own.
Derek Carr Chimes in on Morrow’s Performance
If Morrow is on his way to being a consistent playmaker for the team, then the Raiders defense is going to be a lot better. Quarterback Derek Carr has been a big fan of the linebacker for a while.
“I love Nick. He is one of my favorite guys ever. He is so quiet,” Carr said. “He just flies around and makes plays. He had some big hits today and played outstanding.”
Raiders linebackers have been dreadful at getting to the quarterback. Morrow has played in 57 games for the team and only got the second sack of his career on Sunday. Perhaps Paul Guenther needs to start sending Morrow on more blitzes because it obviously worked against the Broncos.
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