Like a locked-in baseball hitter or a basketball player throwing balls into an ocean-sized rim, Raiders linebacker Bruce Irvin is in the zone right now.
And he’s hitting quarterbacks often and hard.
Irvin has five sacks and 18 quarterback pressures in the past five games, including two on Sunday. And that was before he forced Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers into a game-icing interception in the final two minutes.
“I’m feeling it right now,” said Irvin, who Wednesday was named the AFC defensive player of the week. “But I’m also preparing during the week so that it translates to Sunday.