What happens when the worst rushing offense faces the worst rushing defense?

Can the Rams finally get a stop on the ground when the Raiders come to town?

The Las Vegas Raiders have been moving on from a lot of people lately. A year ago, they moved on from head coach Josh McDaniels. A couple of weeks ago, they moved on from starting quarterback Gardner Minshew to Aidan O’Connell. This week, they moved on from Davante Adams. They even moved on from 10% ownership of the team, the stake now purchased by Tom Brady and his business partner. But perhaps the most underrated Las Vegas departure of the year is when the Raiders moved on from Josh Jacobs in free agency.

The team’s leading rusher in every season between 2019 and 2023, the first player to lead the Raiders in rushing for five years in a row since Marcus Allen in the 80s, Jacobs is now playing for the Green Bay Packers having gained 464 yards on the ground with 4.3 yards per carry. Those are numbers that his old team would kill to have from any of the running backs attempting to replace him.

Six games into the season, the Raiders rank 31st in rushing yards (477) and rushing yards per carry (3.7), but Next Gen Stats takes it one step further: The Raiders are averaging -0.37 Expected Points Added per rush, by far the worst mark in the entire league.

The Dolphins are the second-worst rushing team at -0.24 rush EPA/attempt and the Texans are 30th at -0.16 rush EPA/attempt.

By comparison, the Rams offense is eighth in the NFL at +0.05 EPA per rush attempt.

However, that’s the Rams rushing offense. Tread carefully into all questions about the L.A. Rams 2024 defense because that’s where the team is arguably the worst in football.

This season, the Rams have allowed 788 rushing yards…in five games! They have not even played six games yet and L.A. has allowed 788 rushing yards, the worst in the NFL in rushing yards per game allowed. The 4.8 yards per carry allowed is 26th in the NFL and L.A.’s +0.05 EPA per run allowed is 25th.

Who wins in the battle of the team that can’t run against the team that can’t stop the run?

The Raiders lean on Zamir White, a 2022 fourth round pick out of Georgia who has averaged 3.4, 2.7, 3.4, and 2.9 yards per carry in his four games this season. Former Viking Alexander Mattison hasn’t been better, averaging 2.5 yards per carry in his last two games over 29 carries.

The Rams have allowed at least 120 rushing yards in all five games. So while the pass rush has been a little impressive at times, especially with so many inexperienced players, the run defense has left a lot to be desired. Can Chris Shula get it locked down this week or will the Raiders move on…the ground?