Ravens QB Joe Flacco shut down by Broncos in opener with play call Raiders didn't use once last week

A couple of interesting stats came out following last week's NFL season opening Sunday. One involved how Ravens' quarterback Joe Flacco performed against the Broncos and the other how the Raiders defense was called against Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton.

The call: Blitz

First of all, according to AP stats, the Raiders didn't blitz Andy Dalton one time in their season opener. And Dalton had his way with the Raiders defense.

Dalton dropped back to pass 35 times in the game, and according to Pro Football Focus figures, he was unpressured 29 of those times. He completed 75% of his passes on those unpressured downs for 247 of his total 269 passing yards and both of his passing touchdowns.

This week the Raiders face Joe Flacco and the Ravens. The Ravens faced the Broncos in week one, who blitzed Flacco 7 times. He went 0-7 on those downs with 2 interceptions and was sacked once. On non-blitzed downs, he completed 72% of his passes.

So, perhaps blitzing a few times this week would be a good idea for the Raiders. Just a thought.

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