Raiders’ rushing attack needs philosophical change

Las Vegas’ running game has been putrid so far, but a change in play calling could give the team a spark

It’s no secret that the Las Vegas Raiders’ rushing attack has been awful through the first two games of the 2024 season. Despite head coach Antonio Pierce preaching all offseason that he wants to establish the run and have an offense that’s centered around the ground game, the Raiders rank dead last with 98 rushing yards as a team after two weeks.

Also, Las Vegas is the only team that hasn’t reached triple digits yet. Even the Los Angeles Rams have 136 rushing yards (ranks 31st in the NFL) with their beat-up offensive line. And this isn’t just a volume issue for the Silver and Black, ranking 32nd in the league with a team average of 2.5 yards per carry, 0.7 ypc behind the Rams.

While it would be easy to point to running backs Zamir White and Alexander Mattison as the problems, the Raiders’ biggest issue isn’t with them. White and Mattison have combined for 90 rushing yards and 67 or about 75 percent have come after first contact, according to Pro Football Focus.

The offensive line has been the most significant issue as PFF has the Silver and Black graded as the second-worst run-blocking team (44.1) in the league, and Pierce said as much while talking to reporters after the team’s Week 2 win against the Baltimore Ravens.

“It’s got to start up front,” the head coach explained. “I’m going to be honest and [use] a coaching cliché here, but it starts with me. It starts with our coaches, our offensive line coach, our coordinator. That’s poor, that’s piss-poor, and it’s not good enough. And our players are going to hear about it here in a second.

“We just can’t do that. I mean, under two yards a carry [against Baltimore], getting knocked back, third-and-short and not getting it. I mean, there has to be an intent and a play style that we talked about, that we practice, that we’ve been preaching since day one, and it’s not showing up on game day.

“So, obviously, if it’s changes that need to be made, or scheme, everything’s on the table.”

Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images

While personnel changes are likely coming and should provide a boost to the unit, most notably rookie Jackson Powers-Johnson stepping in for Cody Whitehair at left guard since Whitehair has posted an ugly 46.9 run-blocking grade from PFF. Pierce also mentions a change in scheme from offensive coordinator Luke Getsy which should help get the ground game off the ground as well.

Per PFF’s charting, Getsy has called 20 zone runs to just 12 gap runs in the first two weeks of the season. However, the Raiders’ offensive line is performing better in the latter.

A grade of 60.0 is considered the baseline for PFF and Dylan Parham is one of two linemen who have earned a mark as a run-blocker above that. Parham has posted a 70.3 grade on zone runs, but his 75.9 grade on gap runs is still superior. Kolton Miller has been the other above-average run-blocker and his grades follow a similar trend; 71.9 on gap and 69.6 on zone.

Even Andre James, who has typically been viewed as a more athletic lineman rather than a bruiser, has been better on gap than zone runs with grades of 58.9 and 46.2. The same goes for Whitehair; 52.8 mark with gap runs and 38.3 with zone runs. And if Powers-Johnson cracks the starting lineup, his physical nature suits the power running game as well. Granted, the rookie has to get healthy first.

The only Raiders offensive lineman who bucks this trend so far is Thayer Munford Jr. with a 41.7 mark as a gap-blocker. However, his 45.5 grade on zone runs is still awful and shouldn’t be a deterrent for Getsy to change up the playcalling.

Also, White has always been known as more of a power/downhill type of runner who is best in a gap scheme. Two of his biggest issues coming out of Georgia were vision and lateral agility which are necessities for a running back in a zone-based system.

Yes, the offensive still has to play or execute better as several of their gap-run-blocking grades are still below the baseline and Getsy changing up the philosophy likely won’t be a magic wand that gives Las Vegas a top-tier rushing attack. But the team needs to mix things up to get the ground game to a respectable level and a philosophical change might be a good start.

At this point, the rushing attack can’t get any worse.