Turnover-prone Raiders offer Lions chance to feast on takeaways
Allen Park — A staggering 22.1% of offensive drives by the Las Vegas Raiders this season have ended in a turnover.
So the Lions should have the opportunity to flip the game on its head through turnovers when welcoming the Raiders to Ford Field for "Monday Night Football," with the status of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo notwithstanding.
Las Vegas quarterbacks Garoppolo, Aidan O’Connell and Brian Hoyer have combined for a league-high 12 interceptions (the team with the second-most, Cleveland, has nine) with each quarterback more or less contributing evenly to that stat. Combined, the trio has just eight passing touchdowns.
While Lions defensive backs coach Brian Duker said they don’t do anything different to force turnovers from one opponent to another, there’s reason to believe more opportunities will be available through the air on Monday night.
“I just don’t think there’s been a lot of throws in the air through the middle of our defense, necessarily, for those guys to get their hands on,” Duker said.
“It’s one of those numbers, like, if you do a really good job just to turn the throw based on your positioning and the respect they give you, sometimes you don’t get those opportunities. Sometimes it’s like a really good corner, right? They just don’t throw it his way, he just doesn’t get the numbers.”
Jerry Jacobs has three interceptions for the Lions with Brian Branch, Will Harris and Aidan Hutchinson each adding one. The surprise comes with Kerby Joseph, who had a team-high four last season, having zero through Week 7.
Duker said Joseph’s production in that realm stands the most to lose from teams not throwing a ton over the middle.
“I do think Kerby has consistently shown that he has a really good change on the defense," Duker said. "I just think if you watch the tape, there’s not a lot of evidence of guys trying us over the middle of the field.”
So the Lions should have the opportunity to flip the game on its head through turnovers when welcoming the Raiders to Ford Field for "Monday Night Football," with the status of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo notwithstanding.
Las Vegas quarterbacks Garoppolo, Aidan O’Connell and Brian Hoyer have combined for a league-high 12 interceptions (the team with the second-most, Cleveland, has nine) with each quarterback more or less contributing evenly to that stat. Combined, the trio has just eight passing touchdowns.
While Lions defensive backs coach Brian Duker said they don’t do anything different to force turnovers from one opponent to another, there’s reason to believe more opportunities will be available through the air on Monday night.
“I just don’t think there’s been a lot of throws in the air through the middle of our defense, necessarily, for those guys to get their hands on,” Duker said.
“It’s one of those numbers, like, if you do a really good job just to turn the throw based on your positioning and the respect they give you, sometimes you don’t get those opportunities. Sometimes it’s like a really good corner, right? They just don’t throw it his way, he just doesn’t get the numbers.”
Jerry Jacobs has three interceptions for the Lions with Brian Branch, Will Harris and Aidan Hutchinson each adding one. The surprise comes with Kerby Joseph, who had a team-high four last season, having zero through Week 7.
Duker said Joseph’s production in that realm stands the most to lose from teams not throwing a ton over the middle.
“I do think Kerby has consistently shown that he has a really good change on the defense," Duker said. "I just think if you watch the tape, there’s not a lot of evidence of guys trying us over the middle of the field.”
Players mentioned in this article
Allen Parker
Jimmy Garoppolo
Vegas Franklin
Brian Hoyer
Will Harris
Adrian Joseph
Kerby Long
Recent Stories
Testing Buffalo Bill Page
Joe Horrigan knows the Buffalo Bills
Steelers positional analysis: Kenny Pickett stands alone in QB room
2/17/2024If the Steelers were concerned about the uncertain future at quarterback when Ben Roethlisberger retired, the outlook at the position might not be any more ...
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan doesn’t deserve criticism since Super Bowl
Globe StaffUpdated February 17, 2024, 9:38 a.m.Kyle Shanahan has been on the defensive all week following the 49ers’ 25-22 overtime loss to the Chiefs in the Super ...
New Raiders GM expected to be aggressive in search for top QB
February 17, 2024 - 4:19 PMIf Tom Telesco’s past offers clues about his future, expect the Raiders’ new general manager to be aggressive in bringing in a top-level ...
Mark Kiszla: After hating on Russell Wilson, maybe Sean Payton should give Sam Darnold some love
Sam Darnold needs a second chance to prove his worth in the NFL almost as desperately as the Broncos need a quarterback.Could this be the start of a wonderful bromance?“I ...
Latest Player Notes
How a Wisconsin legend got his German protégé into Badgers pro day
Mar 15, 2024
Marlon Werthmann put his life on hold for the opportunity in front of him Friday at the McClain Center.Werthmann ...
Why former Wisconsin football running back Braelon Allen didn't run the 40 at pro day
Mar 15, 2024
Braelon Allen’s sweat covered his shirt and dripped off his beard as he approached a group of reporters Friday.The ...
How can UW recruit its best class ever? It starts with these five prospects
By Andy Yamashita
Seattle Times staff reporter
Jedd Fisch has lofty recruiting goals at Washington. He didn’t waste any ...
Texas football kicks off spring practice Tuesday. We answer 24 questions for the 2024 team
Things certainly look fresh for the 2024 college football season, especially on the Texas campus.There’s a new conference ...
College Football Playoff: Conferences solve their differences (for now) and agree on general framework for 2026 and beyond
The FBS conferences and Notre Dame agreed on Friday to continue the College Football Playoff beyond the 2025 season, signing ...
Ball security, leadership key as Aztecs look to identify starting quarterback
San Diego State seemingly auditions a new starting quarterback on an annual basis.In the past 12 years, the Aztecs have opened ...
Results and more: A look at what happened at Penn State football’s Pro Day inside Holuba Hall
Most of those at Penn State’s Pro Day Friday were relatively quiet throughout the afternoon’s workouts, but there was one ...
Defense dominates first two weeks of Oregon State spring practice as Beavers ready for 2-week breather
CORVALLIS – Oregon State hit the break of spring practices Saturday, not exactly the midpoint but a good place to assess ...
Dillon Gabriel to have similar input, autonomy as Bo Nix had in Oregon’s offense
Published Mar. 16, 2024, 6:26 p.m.By James CrepeaEUGENE — Dillon Gabriel will have much of the same autonomy as Bo Nix did ...
Two transfers, one underclassman who impressed in Missouri football's spring game
With that, spring camp’s a wrap.Missouri football held its Black & Gold spring game Saturday in front of a healthy crowd ...