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.
“I think it’s huge for us as an organization to understand that there are a lot of ways to win a game,” Del Rio said.