The Khalil Mack-less Oakland Raiders kicked off their season on Monday night with a loss to the Los Angeles Rams. One thing was obvious throughout the game, or at least when the Rams had the ball. They missed Khalil Mack.
Whether the Raiders or head coach Jon Gruden will ever admit it, trading him was a huge mistake and the numbers back that up. The Raiders only managed to pressure the quarterback five times.
FIVE TIMES! In an entire game.
I bet you can guess, that didn’t happen much when Mack was on the Raiders.
The #Raiders' defense recorded five total pressures as a unit against the #Rams, which tied for the league-low in Week 1.
In Khalil Mack's 65 career games in Oakland, the defense recorded five or fewer pressures just once.
— Austin Gayle (@PFF_AustinGayle) September 11, 2018
Unless a pass rush appears out of thin air, then going forward this is pretty much what you’re stuck with. With no Khalil Mack to create pressure, or draw double teams to allow others to get pressure, it’s going to be a long season for Raider Nation.
