When a team has players to the caliber of a Josh Jacobs, a Darren Waller, and, especially, a Davante Adams, a quarterback to the caliber of a Derek Carr can feast.
The Raiders are a prime example of appropriate balance and field spacing, with an offense able to spread the ball to a galaxy of players at just about every corner and just about every level of the field. The short balls and running plays designed for Jacobs, the intermediate threat of Waller, and the all-around tracking of Adams will keep the Steelers' defense on its toes on Saturday evening at Acrisure Stadium, which would serve to the contrary to the last meeting these two teams had last season in Pittsburgh, where the Raiders were pass-heavy.
The Raiders are just about in the middle of the pack in the NFL in pass play percentage, ranking 14th in the league with a 59.26% rate of pass plays called compared to run plays. But, over their last three games, that has dipped top a near-evened split of pass-to-run plays, at 50.28% favoring the pass.
"(That is) basically the National Football League right now," Teryl Austin said during his weekly press conference on Thursday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "When they get the good athletes, they spread you out and do all those things. Those are things we've been working on for a long time. Just got to play real disciplined with your eyes, your keys, your hands, and those things, and I don't think it's anything different. I think it's the amount of skill these guys have is a little bit different than some people, because I think they're really good in their skill position players."
Per NFL Next Gen Stats, Carr is within or above league average in passer rating when going to nearly every spot on the field. His go-to spots have been outside of the hashmarks. On passes between the line of scrimmage, within 10 yards, and to the right of the hashmarks, his passer rating is 106.9, which is far above the league average of 88.1. On passes from 10-to-20 yards and to the left of the hashes, his rating is 99.5, which is above the league average of 85.5. On deep balls of 20 or more yards beyond the line of scrimmage and to the right of the hashes, his rating is a whopping 141.4, whereas the league average is 79.5.
His passer rating is well below league average in two areas on the field, per Next Gen Stats: On balls between the line of scrimmage, within 10 yards, and to the left of the hashmarks, his rating is 72.6, where the league average is 89.0. On balls in between 10 and 20 yards of the line of scrimmage and in between the hashes, he is at a 53.4 rating, where the league average is 86.8.
"They've got some guys who have came back. Waller, (Hunter) Renfrow, and they've already had some guys, (Keelan) Cole's really good," Levi Wallace told me. "We've got to go out there and just do our best covering the whole field and take advantage of things that we know are coming and try to cover them. It's going to be a challenge for us. It's going to be cold, so we're going to see just how much they're going to throw the ball. They also have a good back, too, and if he's on, then we've got to stop the run first."
That back is Jacobs, the NFL's leading rusher at 1,495 yards -- 192 more than second place, Tennessee's Derrick Henry -- and his 11 rushing touchdowns are tied for fifth in the NFL and are three off the pace set by Detroit's Jamaal Williams.
Jacobs is having a career season. His previous high for rushing yards in a season was the 1,150 he gained in his rookie season of 2019 (in which he played 13 games). He is also blazing far ahead in taking a career-high 291 carries and counting this season. His previous career high was the 273 carries he took in 2020. Jacobs is also rushing for a career-best 5.1 yards per carry, which is second in the NFL to Philadelphia's Miles Sanders at 5.2 YPC, among those with at least 200 carries this season. He also has not lost a fumble.
"He'll hit a hole fast, and he's not going to slow down until someone hits him," Isaiahh Loudermilk told me. "I think that's one of the things that really stands out when you watch his film. He gets up to speed fast and he keeps it, so people coming down to hit him, they've got their hands full because he's going to go at them full speed. That just means, for us, we can't let him get going. If he gets going, he's so fast, you've got to try to prevent that. You've got to keep holes closed and keep the edges."
The former Pro Bowl tight end Waller missed two and a half months with a hamstring injury, which could contribute as a factor to the lack of Carr's success going to the middle of the field at an intermediate distance throughout the season. Waller, though, returned to catch three passes for 48 yards and a touchdown last week against the Patriots. Waller caught five passes for 65 yards in the game last season against the Steelers.
"Extremely athletic, long, always gets open, and he's a vertical threat down the field," Robert Spillane said. "He does everything you can ask for a tight end to do."
Adams has been one of the NFL's best wide receivers since his rookie year in 2014, through his career with Green Bay and now the Raiders. Adams is tied for the NFL lead with 12 receiving touchdowns, he is fourth in receiving yards with 1,275, and he is seventh in the NFL with 86 receptions.
"What makes him so good, obviously he's got really good talent," Austin said of Adams, "but I think when you watch him, we always talk about smart football players, and a lot of times you talk about that sometimes on the defensive side of the ball. He's he same way as a receiver. ... He understands how guys are trying to tackle him, what the coverages are doing, he knows how to set you up. You combine that with a really good skillset and a guy that really thinks the game a high, high level, you get a really good player, and that's what he is.
"You see some things. He knows, 'If I go here, this guy will probably think I'm running this route and jump it, and I'll come back the other way.' He knows a lot of the times at the top of his route what guys are looking for. He'll hit you one way and go the other. I mean, it's really good to watch, and I mean, I don't like having to defend it, but I appreciate -- I think we all do -- we appreciate a great player, and I think that's what he is."
From a cornerback's perspective, what separates Adams from he average NFL wide receiver is how technically sound he is.
"I've always been a fan of him and his game for years now," Wallace said. "Just how smooth he is in route running, as well as how good he is at the point of the catch. Obviously he's one of the best route runners in the game, but I think he's extremely smooth. Kind of like (Cleveland's) Amari Cooper. Understands leverage, routes, coverages, and stuff like that. He's had a couple good quarterbacks, as well, that get him the ball. Good schematics, as well. That guy's definitely a special talent."
