Oakland Raiders look like a playoff team this year

Nov 1, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders running back Latavius Murray (28) runs the ball against the New York Jets in the first quarter at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Running game

When you can run the football and stop the run, you have a good chance to win football games. Those are the two main areas that the physicality of a football team is measured and the Raiders have both. It goes back to blocking and tackling and if you have a physical running back, he breaks tackles.

That puts the other team and a tackling disadvantage and gives you an advantage in physicality. And a long with the Raiders huge offensive line, a running back like Murray gives you that advantage. Murray is 6’3″, 230 pounds, has great vision, a little wiggle to make you miss, 4.3 speed and power to run through tackles.

Last year, we saw the vision and the speed not the wiggle or the ability to run through and break tackle. He put that on display Sunday in a win against the Jets, rushing for 113 yards on 20 carries. I had concerns about Murray and the Raiders running game because before, they only seemed to be able to run the ball and bad run-defenses.

But a performance like this on the NFL’s best run-defense means the Raiders running game has arrived. Now, during those times that the running game sputters early, they’ll have the confidence to stay with it. Again, Del Rio and his staff making corrections in order to out-physical one of the most physical teams in the league.

Next: Receiving weapons