In his first NFL start Sunday, Raiders strong safety Karl Joseph at one point was called on to blitz.
The rookie from West Virginia flew into the Tennesee backfield, forcing Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota to move in the pocket – and right into the flight path of linebacker Bruce Irvin. Irvin slapped the football out of Mariota’s hands, and the fumble was recovered by safety Reggie Nelson.
It was one of the biggest defensive plays of the day for the Raiders, who beat the Titans in Nashville, Tenn., 17-10 to improve to 2-1 this season.
And, it was just one of several plays made by Joseph, who seemed to be the steadying factor in Oakland’s defense. After coming into the game ranked dead last in the NFL in total defense – allowing more than 500 yards combined against the Saints and Falcons – the Raiders gave up 393 to the Titans. 93 of those yards came on the Titans’ final drive of the day, noted Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com.
It was a big improvement for the Raiders, and Joseph was a big reason for the turnaround, said cornerback Sean Smith, who also had a good day after consecutive shaky games.
Smith said Joseph, who led the Raiders with 10 tackles, made his presence felt against the Titans’ running game by coming up fast to attack Tennessee ballcarriers.
"He came in, he played fast, he was loud, made all the calls," Smith told reporters. "I was happy for him."
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Joseph also shored up some of the Raiders’ deficiencies in pass coverage. The analytics website Pro Football Focus gave a strong grade of 82.5 to Joseph. Cornerbacks Smith (90.2) and David Amerson (97.9) and free safety Reggie Nelson (85.1) also received good grades. The only difference this week in personnel in the secondary was Joseph taking over for Keith McGill at strong safety.
"At safety, both Reggie Nelson and rookie Karl Joseph also stood out," wrote PFF’s Thomas Maney. Joseph was particularly strong against the run, Maney wrote.
Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio could see Joseph was making a positive impact as the game was unfolding.
"My eyes told me he did some good things," Del Rio said. "I’m sure there will be things that weren’t perfect, but I thought he gave us, throughout the whole week and the way we played and the way the defense played, I thought he gave us a little spark having him in."
The Raiders this week will begin game-planning for the 3-0 Ravens this Sunday in Baltimore. Game time is scheduled for 10 a.m. in the Bay Area.
