The Las Vegas Raiders‘ run defense will be tested in Week 5 when the Silver and Black take on the Indianapolis Colts on October 5 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Las Vegas will be facing a Colts team that ranks in the top 10 in team rushing yards with 545 so far this season, per ESPN. Moreover, Indianapolis are averaging 136.3 yards per game.
At the forefront of the Colts’ running game is Jonathan Taylor, who leads the NFL in rushing with 414 yards through four weeks, per ESPN. Furthermore, Taylor is averaging 5.4 yards per carry, so if the Raiders cannot stop the run, the Colts‘ star will have a field day against them.
Former Raiders wide receiver James Jones stressed how important it is for the defense to put all its efforts into stopping Taylor.
“First and foremost, if you’re going to win this game, you got to get off the bus and you got to stop [No.] 28 and that’s Jonathan Taylor,” Jones said on the October 2 edition of “Upon Further Review.“ “(…) This is another kid that has a whole lot of speed, and he has the ability to break tackles and make the home run play every single time.
“So, getting off the bus, Daniel Jones is not the worry. The worry is stopping Jonathan Taylor behind this offensive line. And if we can’t do that, we’re not going to have a chance to win this ball game.”
Raiders Should Force Daniel Jones to Beat Them
Through four weeks, the Colts aren’t asking Jones to led them to victory. All that the former New York Giants quarterback is doing is making timely passes to his weapons and leaning on the ground game. So far, that’s been a recipe for success as Indianapolis are 3-1.
Nonetheless, Jones stated that he wants the defense to take away the run game and force the 28-year-old to beat them rather than Taylor and the running game.
“Once we stop the run, you put the ball in Daniel Jones hands,“ Jones added. “And I will live with that. If Daniel Jones beats us, Daniel Jones beats us. But I will live with him beating us. But we got to stop 28 to have a chance in this ball game.”
What the Raiders Expect From Daniel Jones
On the September 30 edition of “1 on 1,“ Raiders head coach Pete Carroll outlined what the defense must do to ensure Jones has another poor performance like he did in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Rams.
“The new guy is Daniel Jones in this thing, and he has really thrived with the people around him in the system that they’re running,“ Carroll said. “[Shane Steichen is] doing a great job getting him off to a fantastic start.
“I know his confidence is high. He got roughed up a little bit last week with a couple of picks, but they have seemed to put it together really well, and they’ve been wide open, which is why they’ve caught people off guard…
“We’re going to try to make it hard on them. They have used their play-action game so extensively, more than maybe anybody in the NFL, right at the top. That’s been a real benefit to them because of Jonathan Taylor being back there.”
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