Awful in preseason, Raiders' defense has been key

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Back in the preseason, when the Raiders' defensive players were personally escorting opponents down the field, no one could have guessed they would be the main reason the team is doing as well as it is at 3-4.

Well, actually, the coaches knew. And the players had a good idea, too. But cornerback Tracy Porter isn't mad at the so-called experts, or the doubting fans.

"We knew what we had," Porter said. "You guys are on the outside looking in, so you can only speculate. You didn't know the types of players that we had. But we knew, and we knew the direction that we wanted to go.

"We have high-character guys that just love the game, that put the team before themselves. That want to be and play like a family."

It's a big family, as the Raiders have 13 different players accounting for 21 sacks. Porter has 1.5 of those and he also had one of the two interceptions in Sunday's 21-18 win over the Steelers.

Oakland allowed only 35 yards rushing and remains the only NFL team not to give up a run of 20 yards or more all season. The Raiders are sixth in run defense (89.9 yards per game), 10th in overall defense (330.9) and 12th in points allowed (21.4), up from 28th last season (27.7).

Credit head coach Dennis Allen and defensive coordinator Jason Tarver for drawing up a clever attacking defense, and credit the players. The Raiders have 10 new starters on defense, and most of them were plucked off the free-agent scrap heap by general manager Reggie McKenzie, who gets some credit, too.

Raiders rookie linebacker Sio Moore celebrates his first-quarter sack of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Raiders rookie linebacker Sio Moore celebrates his first-quarter sack of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Awful in preseason, Raiders' defense has been key 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

"I've been pleased with what I've seen, and I knew coming into this season that this football team had the right mind-set," Allen said. "I knew we had pros that wanted to come to work every day, that were going to be unselfish, that were going to put the team first."

It all starts with the secondary. Free-agent signings Porter, Mike Jenkins, Charles Woodson and Usama Young and first-round pick D.J. Hayden have infused coverage skills and high football IQs.

Last year, Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger threw for 384 yards and four touchdowns against Oakland; this year, it was 275 and one.

"We do a better job of covering," Allen said. "We do a better job of keeping the ball in front of us. Our secondary has really allowed us to do some different things. ... JT has been able to implement a few more things that we want to try to do defensively. We can get a little more aggressive."

And veterans like Woodson aren't going to let anybody get too happy about being 3-4, or look ahead to the next six games, all against teams that don't have winning records.

"I think we're a good defense, (but) we still have a lot of room for improvement," Woodson said. "I think the guys will still go back and say, 'Hey, how can we eliminate the touchdowns?' If we can do that, we're talking about being even better. ...

"We don't want to sit here and have our chins in the air about one game. We got this win, it feels good and it's still about going out and working and getting yourself better as a team."

Briefly: Tarver apologized for flipping off an official after a call in Sunday's game. The Raiders said they don't condone the action and will handle any disciplinary action in-house. ... Allen said linebacker Miles Burris, who has been out all year with a knee injury, will return to practice Wednesday. He is also hopeful that rookie tackle Menelik Watson (calf) will return to the practice field then. ... Tackle Jared Veldheer (triceps) visited a doctor Monday, and the team will have a timeline for his return soon. He is eligible to return from the temporary injured reserve list this week.