Here are some areas the Oakland Raiders need to focus on after a 55-20 road loss at Baltimore on Sunday:
Recap: The Raiders were completely beaten down in Baltimore in all phases of the game. The 55 points allowed tied a team record. Oakland is now 3-6.
Biggest area to fix: Defense. Sorry for being simple, but there’s no reason to get complicated here. Oakland has surrendered 97 points in the past two games. Oakland has allowed 284 points this season, which is the third most in the NFL. Clearly, that is ridiculous and it must stop. New coach Dennis Allen was supposed to change the defensive attitude, but it hasn’t happened yet. Yes, there have been injuries and depth issues, but this unit has to show some more fight.
Biggest area to build on: Run defense. It didn’t help in the final score, but Oakland can hope it does in future games. Baltimore had just 78 yards on 28 carries. This came a week after Tampa Bay’s Doug Martin had 251 yards rushing against the Raiders.
What to watch for: Oakland hosts New Orleans on Sunday. The Saints, 4-5, are playing much better lately. This will not be an easy game for the Raiders.