Raiders Running Game Is Failing For These Three Reasons

The Las Vegas Raiders running game has mysteriously vanished into a black hole, and the Raiders need to revive it quickly. They’re about to run a schedule gauntlet that includes the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Raiders, and winning any of these games will be nearly impossible without the ability to run the ball and control clock. 

Sam Warren of The Athletic did a look into the nuts and bolts of how and why this is happening, and it’s revealing. Start with the stats, which say the Raiders’ 3.1 yards per carry and 24.4 percent run stuffed rate are the worst in the league. Their 93 yards per game, -.21 rushing EPA per play and 32.8 percent rushing success rate are all in the bottom five, too, per Warren. 

The first problem is Ashton Jeanty, but it’s not what you think. Jeanty suffered a serious ankle sprain near the end of camp, and he finally admitted that he’s not fully recovered yet. Jeanty came up gimpy after a play late in the third quarter, but he wasn’t doing much before that, as the writer noted that he had just 13 yards on four carries in the first half. 

The second one is more obvious -- missed blocks that lead to Jeanty or rookie running back Mike Washington Jr. being met in the backfield. Warren also pointed to an example, specifically a whiff by left tackle Kolton MIller that led to Jeanty being crushed for a five-yard loss. The writer noted the poor technique on the three runs that followed, which all resulted in tackles for loss. 

That led to a field goal in a game where the Raiders wound up needing all the points they could get. 

A different strategy might help, and that was Warren’s third reason for the failure. The Raiders are running against stacked boxes 30.3 percent of the time, which is the fourth highest mark in the league, largely because they’re using tight formations and heavy personnel packages. 

Splitting out backs could provide room to run, but it could also cost the Raiders some of the success they’ve been having from these condensed formations. 

It’s also fair to ask how much Kubiak can do with the coaching. He doesn’t have much in the way of receiving talent, and it shows. It’s especially noticeable when deep threat Tre Tucker has a couple of drops, as the Raiders’ margin for error is perilously thin right now.