The Raiders are getting to the quarterback.
They just aren’t getting off the field nearly enough.
And with Josh Allen and the Bills coming to Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, the distinction could become painfully obvious.
For all the disruption the Raiders have generated up front, too much of it is being undone by what happens when opponents escape that pressure, find an opening or turn an ordinary play into something considerably more damaging.
The sacks are there. So are the pressures.
But the stops?
Those have become harder to come by during a two-game losing streak that has exposed a troubling disconnect between the Raiders’ ability to create havoc and their ability to contain it.
They have surrendered 35 explosive plays, seventh most in the NFL.
Against the Patriots last Sunday, they allowed 21 gains of 10 or more yards.
Those are separate measurements, but they point toward the same problem: Opponents are covering too much ground too quickly.
“It was a bad game overall. Everyone knows that, coaches to players, everybody,” Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby said. “We all have to be able to hold each other accountable and hold ourselves accountable.”
Or, as Raiders defensive coordinator Rob Leonard put it: “We just got to stack good plays. Right now, we’ve had good play, bad play, good play, bad play. Just got to keep improving.”
The issue: a Bills offense that leads the NFL in rushing and just reminded the Rams how many ways Allen can hurt you not only from the pocket but also when he uses his legs to buy time outside the pocket or just tuck it away and run.
“Backyard football, as I like to call it,” Raiders linebacker Nakobe Dean said.
At the risk of stating the obvious, the Raiders are looking at a three-game losing streak if their defensive day against the Bills mirrors their New England outing.
“You got to improve,” Leonard said. “We could go down the rabbit hole of areas, but we got to be better.”
Allen and running back James Cook combined for 232 rushing yards in Monday night’s overtime victory. Allen accounted for 121 of them, another reminder that defending Buffalo’s quarterback requires considerably more than making him uncomfortable in the pocket.
Sometimes, that is when the real trouble starts.
For a Raiders defense already struggling to limit big gains, the timing could hardly be more challenging.
Two weeks ago, the Raiders ranked seventh in points allowed per game. They now surrender the ninth most. They have allowed the fifth-most total yards, ninth-most passing yards and fourth-most rushing yards.
That is too much damage in too many places to explain away as one bad afternoon.
And it complicates what otherwise would be an encouraging development.
The Raiders rank ninth in the NFL with 13 sacks and second with 62 pressures. Across pressure metrics, they have established themselves among the league’s better defenses at affecting the quarterback.
That should be a foundation.
Instead, it has become a frustrating illustration of how one part of a defense can function without the entire operation working.
A pressure means little if the quarterback escapes and finds an uncovered receiver. A sack loses some of its value when the next snap produces enough yardage to erase it.
Winning a down is useful.
Winning the possession is the point.
The past two losses have underscored the difference.
Against the Chiefs, the Raiders were close enough to win, but their late defensive gamble failed to produce the stop they needed. An aggressive approach carries consequences when the pressure does not arrive in time and the coverage behind it cannot hold.
Against New England, the consequences were even more glaring.
Drake Maye connected with Kyle Williams for a 34-yard touchdown against rookie cornerback Zeke Masses in the third quarter. Another completion to Williams went for 49 yards against Darien Porter and helped set up a field goal.
Those were the loudest examples of a defense giving up chunks of the field. The 21 gains of at least 10 yards show how frequently the Patriots found room to operate.
Masses is a rookie, and Porter, who switched from wide receiver to cornerback at Iowa State, is in just his second season and still completing the transition to the secondary.
But it’s a bottom-line business, and the Raiders were not simply losing an occasional matchup; they were making it too easy for New England to keep moving.
That is a dangerous invitation to extend to Allen.
Commit too much attention to getting upfield and he can run through the space left behind. Lose track of a receiver while reacting to his movement and he can punish the coverage downfield.
Then there is Cook, whose presence prevents a defense from treating every snap as an exercise in containing the quarterback.
Buffalo can create explosive plays through its running game, its passing game and the moments when Allen turns a seemingly broken play into an opportunity.
The Rams saw it Monday. Plenty of other opponents have experienced it, too.
The Raiders do not need another demonstration.
They need a more complete defensive performance.
That starts with understanding that aggression and discipline have to coexist. Rushers must threaten the pocket without creating escape routes. Coverage must survive beyond the quarterback’s first read. Tacklers must finish before a manageable gain becomes a field-flipping play.
The answer cannot simply be to send more defenders and hope Allen gets overwhelmed. Nor can the Raiders retreat into a passive approach and allow Buffalo to dictate everything.
Leonard has to find the balance, and his players have to execute it together.
For a rebuilding team with limitations on offense, that cooperation is essential. The Raiders cannot consistently ask their offense to overcome defensive breakdowns that turn competitive games into uphill climbs.
Their first three wins created optimism about how quickly this team might progress.
Their past two losses have clarified how much work remains.
There is something worth building around in a pass rush capable of making quarterbacks hurry.
But pressure is supposed to make an offense’s job harder.
Until the Raiders stop surrendering so much ground behind it, they are doing too much to make that job easier.
And Allen needs no help.