Raiders' issues remain despite QB change

HENDERSON, Nev. — A lot has changed about the Las Vegas Raiders in the last few days.

But here’s what hasn’t changed and what needs to change if they’re to have success the rest of the 2026 season: The Raiders still struggle to run the ball consistently and effectively. Defensively, they still struggle to tackle and prevent the big play from biting them. If those two things don’t turn around, it doesn’t matter who the quarterback is.

So while it’s easy to fixate on Fernando Mendoza making his first NFL start on Sunday when the Raiders host the Seattle Seahawks at Allegiant Stadium, the reality is the defense better get some stops against Drew Lock and the Seattle offense and the Raiders better be able to run the ball, whether it’s Ashton Jeanty or Mike Washington Jr.

“Yeah, it’s a fair question, and those are things that we’re working on,” Kubiak said Friday when asked about the run game’s struggles. “We work on them all the time in practice. I definitely have seen strides. I know it didn’t show up last week. There’s things that I can do better. There’s things our players can do better. I know team success will come when that area improves on offense and on defense.”

At 4-5, the Raiders’ season is far from over. And even with the trading of Kirk Cousins to Minnesota and elevating Mendoza to the starting QB spot, general manager John Spytek insists the team is not throwing in the towel. Nor should they. Win five of the remaining eight games and the Raiders are possibly in the wild card conversation in the AFC. And with the schedule the rest of the way not exactly daunting — yes, the two games vs. the Broncos figure to be somewhat challenging and there’s the trip to Kansas City at the end of the season. But games vs. Cleveland, Tennessee, Arizona and the winless Chargers are certainly winnable. Win those four and find a way to win one of the three against Denver and K.C. and you’re in the picture for the postseason.

Of course, a win Sunday against the Seahawks would go a long way toward amplifying the Raiders’ hopes to be playing meaningful football in January. However, the NFL’s stingiest defense awaits the Silver and Black as Seattle allows just 244 yards per game.

Kubiak is well aware of that. After all, he was with the Seahawks last year when they went the distance to become Super Bowl champions. And with Sam Darnold out and Lock in at quarterback, maybe we’ll see defensive coordinator Rob Leonard unleash his pass rushers, blitz more and try and get Lock out of rhythm.

“We’ve got to execute better, especially to start the game. We’ve got to start faster, and that’s really all about us,” Leonard said of the defense. “What I’m calling a sense of urgency to get lined up, playing with physicality, everybody running to the ball, and it’ll happen. Once good plays happen, you can stack them.”

Mendoza needs to do his job, keep the offense out there, finish drives and not put it all on the defense to win the game. And that’s where running the ball would truly be beneficial to the Raiders this week, more than any point so far this season.  

Jeanty has averaged just 3.2 yards in 114 carries. Washington has only been slightly better, averaging 3.9 yards in  71 attempts. That’s not good enough. The Raiders have tried to get Jeanty more involved in the offense in other ways, throwing the ball out in the flat to him hoping he could make defenders miss and get big plays that way.

He has 42 receptions in nine games and is averaging 8.8 yards a catch. So he is contributing. But he could really use a breakout game running with the ball. Maybe with Mendoza’s ability to be a running threat it opens things up for Jeanty and Washington to have more success rushing. Kubiak says he has not given up on Jeanty and will continue to get him involved.

With Darnold out with a quadriceps injury, Lock will be asked to move the Seattle offense and find success against a raiders secondary that misses tackles, gets beat 1-on-1 and whose pass rush despite the presence of Maxx Crosby, Kwity Paye and Adam Butler has registered just 19 sacks through nine games.

“When you’re stacking inconsistent plays, it’s always multiple things,” Leonard said. “But I’d say fatigue makes cowards of us all. When you’re on the field a long time, mistakes tend to happen more often. We’ll just put it that way.”

Crosby is tied for 30th individually with four sacks. But in fairness to him, he is constantly double-teamed and sometimes even triple-teamed as opponents won’t give him a free path to its quarterback.

In his three appearances this season, Lock has be sacked twice. He’s completing 71 percent of his passes and has five touchdowns and no interceptions. The Raiders will also have to deal with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the NFL’s top receiver. He’s averaging 14.6 yards a catch, has 71 receptions and nine touchdowns.

“To me, Drew is a starting NFL quarterback,” Kubiak said of Lock. “I have so much respect for Drew and how good of a player that he is. He’s 2-0 this year, and Drew's winning football games.”
 
Ultimately, it comes down to playing complimentary football. If the Raiders can run the ball more effectively, give the defense time to rest and then when it’s their turn, get stops and pressure the opposing team’s quarterback, the second half of the season may turn out to be one that brings a smile to the collective face of Raider Nation.

If it’s the same old same old, well, we’ve seen that movie before.