Raiders conquer red zone woes in win over Houston

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022 | 2 a.m.

The Raiders’ Week 7 matchup against the Houston Texans had all the makings of a classic get-well game: coming off a bye, at home, against one of the league’s worst teams. And Las Vegas took advantage.

Not only did the Raiders notch a much-needed victory to move to 2-4 on the season, they made strides in some problem areas that had been plaguing the team for most of the season. The blocking was better, key defensive players finally showed up on the stat sheet, and, maybe most significantly, the offense thrived in the red zone.

Coming into the contest Las Vegas ranked 25^th in the NFL in red zone conversion rate, as they scored touchdowns on just 47.4% of their trips inside the opponents’ 20-yard line. Against the porous Houston defense they looked like a completely different team, reaching the end zone on all three red-zone trips.

In fact, Las Vegas only needed to run three plays inside the 20 to score three touchdowns.

The resurgence of fourth-year running back Josh Jacobs had much to do with that newfound production, as he got three carries in the red zone and got across the goal line on all three.

Quarterback Derek Carr deserves a lot of credit for the first touchdown as well, though technically his most important pass came from just outside the red zone.

Things were tense when Las Vegas found itself trailing, 13-10, midway through the third quarter. Facing a crucial 3^rd-and-5 from the 21, Carr was able to avoid instant pressure by stepping up in the pocket, avoiding a tackler and finding tight end Foster Moreau for a huge first down:

On the next play, Jacobs ran for a 4-yard touchdown to give Las Vegas its first lead of the game, and Jacobs did all the work.

It’s a toss play to the short side of the field, which is usually a bad idea due to the general congestion it invites, and it’s made worse when left guard Dylan Parham and right guard Alex Bars are unable to get to the second level in time to make their blocks. That allows two linebackers to flow to the ball unblocked, but Jacobs beats both to the edge anyway and runs through the arm tackles for the score:

The blocking was much better executed on the Raiders’ second foray into the red zone.

In another critical situation, trailing 20-17 with just 13 minutes remaining, the call was a draw play up the middle. The key blocks come from Moreau, who is lined up as a fullback, and center Andre James, both of whom connect with their defenders head-on to give Jacobs a clean alley up the middle.

The final block is made by slot receiver Hunter Renfrow, who gets in the way of two defenders, allowing Jacobs the leverage to run them over at the goal line:

Fittingly, the third red-zone touchdown was a combination of good blocking and exceptional running.

Leading 24-10 with seven minutes remaining, Josh McDaniels calls a power run with Jacobs following fullback Jakob Johnson through the hole. Barr pulls from right guard and seals off the left edge. Left tackle Kolton Miller and Parham push their defenders out of the way. Right tackle Thayer Munford gets to the second level, chases down a safety in space and makes his block. And Jakob finds his lead block, allowing Jacobs to burst through the line into the open field.

From there, Jacobs is able to avoid the deep safety and win a race to the pylon:

Literally every block was executed as drawn up, and Jacobs’ third red-zone TD all but clinched a must-win game that was looking shaky for most of the afternoon.

Had the Raiders not gone 3-for-3 in the red zone and instead settled for a couple field goals, it’s not difficult to envision a different outcome on the final scoreboard. In the NFL, the margin between winning and losing can be that thin.

For one get-well week, the Raiders’ red-zone execution put them on the right side of that equation.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.