After ranking near the top of the league in average points per game, the Las Vegas Raiders' offense has seemingly been figured out. Injuries to an already questionable group of wide receivers and to some of their best offensive weapons have made life difficult for Las Vegas' offense.
On paper, the Raiders are only missing Jack Bech. Brock Bowers missed the first few weeks of the season but is back now. Las Vegas played games without a starting wide receiver, and their starting running back, Ashton Jeanty, is far from healthy.
The Raiders' blowout loss to the New England Patriots witnessed nearly everything that could go wrong, going wrong. However, Las Vegas has consistently failed to do several things the Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs capitalized on, as will other teams moving forward.
Las Vegas' offense is beginning to show many of the same problems it did in recent seasons. This proves the Raiders are still dealing with the consequences of prior coaching staff and roster decisions.
Holes Everywhere
Entering the season, Las Vegas' front office and coaching staff knew the roster still had several holes to fill. They also knew that many of those holes were unlikely to be addressed until after the season ended. Still, Las Vegas' Week 5 outing left much to be desired.
The Raiders have to do a better job of working with what they have. One challenge is that Las Vegas' first-year coaching staff is largely still figuring out what their team is. Earlier this week, Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak shared his thoughts on his team's struggles over the past two weeks.
"I think that you do what you got to do to win the game, man. Your weaknesses come out, and what the numbers say that they are, and we're just trying to go win the game. So, we're trying to improve all of our weaknesses,” Kubiak said earlier this week.
“That's offensive, defense, special teams, and the other side of the ball, they're going to come after what you're good at. They're going harp on, 'Hey, this team, they've taken the ball away,' so they're going protect it better. So, we've got to continue to take the ball away and just continue to improve as a team."
Why Drives Stalled
Offensively, Las Vegas' issues are clear and becoming more apparent each week to opposing teams. The Raiders' inability to run the ball made it easy for the Patriots to limit offensive drives. New England shut down the run and pressured Kirk Cousins all day long.
That is the blueprint to beating the Raiders. Make Cousins beat you. Then make sure he does not. Until Las Vegas figures out how to run the ball consistently, many of their offensive drives will resemble what they did against the Patriots.
Raiders offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko recently explained that it is up to him and the Raiders' coaching staff to do a better job of putting their players in a better position to succeed. Yet the problem may be that they do not quite have a good enough roster to beat the elite.
Las Vegas' coaching staff will have its work cut out, as Buffalo is just as good, if not better, than any team the Raiders have faced this season.
“I think it comes down to us as coaches putting guys in the best situations possible, understanding the situations, and then executing those plays,” Janocko said earlier this week.
“So, there's things that we evaluate after every game, wins and losses that we can be ready for, and then how do we adjust for unscouted looks and things that you haven't seen. So, and then just being able to let the players play fast and have answers to the test."
Week 6 will be the next chance to see if the Raiders can make the necessary corrections as a coaching staff. For the players, Week 6 will be their next chance to show they are coachable and have the physical capabilities to execute the game plan at a high level.
Time will tell whether the Raiders fare better against the Bills than the Patriots and Chiefs, or if they will lose for the third week in a row.
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