Inside the Oakland Raiders · Dec 31, 2015
Raiders young defense has improved dramatically throughout season
Benson Mayowa is among the young group of players that had played a big role in the growth of the Raiders’ defense. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)ALAMEDA — The Raiders defense experienced a youth moment throughout this season, which concludes Sunday in Kansas City.
Some of that was by necessity after Justin Tuck’s season-ending pectoral injury and Aldon Smith’s year-long suspension. Some has been performance-based, such as Curtis Lofton ceding most of his inside linebacker snaps recently to rookie Ben Heeney.
It’s added up to a defense that appeared to be the Raiders’ weakness early in the year becoming its strength over the season’s final month.
