5 Keys To Victory – Revisited: Oakland Raiders At St. Louis Rams

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Rams nation was pretty confident in getting a win against the Raiders, but no one saw this coming. A whopping 52-0 beatdown of Oakland showed what the Rams are capable of when firing on all cylinders. Their offense was unstoppable, their defense was relentless and their special teams was superb. Here are our Keys to Victory – Revisted:

Pressure QB Derek Carr

Sack City is back. The Rams added six more sacks to move their season total to 28 – tied for 14th in the league. DE Robert Quinn had a hat trick and a forced fumble against Carr. DT Aaron Donald got into the sack column again as well – pushing his season total to six, the best among all rookies. Even DE Chris Long got back into the action his first week returning from the Injured Reserve List. Carr was harassed all game long and he gained only 173 yards and threw two interceptions. He was eventually benched in favor of QB Matt Schaub in the fourth quarter.

Smother RB Darren McFadden

McFadden was never able to get a lot of carries due to the large deficit the Raiders needed to make up. He finished with 11 carries for 27 yards and two catches for 18 yards. RB Latavius Murray has talent, and he is clearly the future in Oakland, but he sat out this bloodbath of a football game due to a concussion he suffered against the Chiefs last Thursday.

Eliminate penalties

Both teams committed eight penalties in the game. Oakland gave up 73 yards and St. Louis surrendered 60. Penalties seemed to have little effect on the outcome of the game. The discrepancy of talent between the two teams was colossal.

Continue to use WR Tavon Austin creatively

I was glad to see Austin used on reverses again this week. He ran twice for 24 yards and a score and added two catches for 11 yards. On his 18 yard touchdown run Austin went around the edge and made several defenders took helpless against his top notch speed and agility. Austin has been more effective as a runner this year and Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer should continue to utilize Austin’s legs in anyway he can.

The battle of the legs

This game got out of hand quickly, and the Raiders’ kicker didn’t even put any points on the board. Rams K Greg Zurlein made one 38 yard field goal in the second quarter and added a whopping seven extra points. St. Louis dominated the inept Raiders in every facet of the game.

Check back with us next week to see our keys to victory for when the Rams take on the Redskins.