Questions About Run Defense Remain Unanswered

The Las Vegas Raiders have heard the questions before. More times than they care to count, most likely. But that’s not going to stop the media from asking how the Raiders plan to fix their run defense, which has gone from problematic to bad to horrific over the course of the first seven weeks of the season. 

The stats align with the adjectives, per Sam Warren of The Athletic. The Raiders have allowed an NFL-worst 656 rushing yards to opposing offenses in October, and it’s become a defining factor in their four-game losing streak. 

They’re also one of two teams to allow more than 1,000 rushing yards through seven games.  Finally, the Raiders are on pace to allow the most rushing yards they have in a season since 2009, and the 5.0 yards per carry is the most they’ve allowed since 2011.

Coach Klint Kubiak has come up with a catchy three-word mantra for this: tackling, alignment and assignment. He left talent out of the equation, though, the absence of which is seen as a huge factor by experts and evaluators from outside the organization. 

The coach added that it’s about playing “a better brand of football,” and defensive end Maxx Crosby agrees that fundamentals are one culprit. He chipped in by saying that the defense has to defeat its blocks, win the one-on-one battles and know their responsibilities, both individually and collectively. 

As he often does, though, Crosby took it one step further. He says it’s about attitude and energy, and “whooping a man’s [expletive]." And energy was definitely lacking against the Los Angeles Rams, according to linebacker Quay Walker. 

The tackling has visibly deteriorated, as the Raiders have gone from swarming the ball to allowing running backs to break a signle tackle. That was the case on a 17-yard score by Rams running back Kyren Williams, as edge rusher Kwity Paye lost the edge, and Williams then evaded lunging tackles from defensive backs Darien Porter and Treydan Stukes.

Defensive coordinator Rob Leonard agrees with Crosby about “whooping the guy in front of you," and even Crosby has been a culprit this season, as he has just three tackles for loss and no run stuffs even though he leads the league in those two categories over his first seven seasons. 

The Raiders also don’t have an interior presence, per Warren, which is where the talent question comes into play. Defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway has been a “standout,” the writer added, but so far this doesn’t look like a problem that can be fixed without better additional talent up front.