The Las Vegas Raiders were one of the NFL’s early surprises, opening the season 3-0 under first-year head coach Klint Kubiak. However, things have taken a turn over the last few weeks, and Sunday’s 45-17 loss to the New England Patriots exposed some serious weaknesses on both sides of the football.
The Raiders have now lost two straight games, their running game has struggled to get going, and their defense has surrendered 102 points over the last three contests. Still, at 3-2, Las Vegas remains in the early AFC playoff conversation.
Sunday’s matchup with the Buffalo Bills also brings an interesting reunion, as longtime Bills defensive back Taron Johnson will face his former team for the first time.
To get a better understanding of what’s happening in Las Vegas, I reached out to Adam Hill, who covers the Raiders for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. I asked Adam six questions about the team, including whether its early success was legitimate, how Johnson has performed in his new home, and where the Bills might have an advantage on Sunday.
1. Klint Kubiak and the Raiders’ struggling running game
Joe from Queens: The Raiders started 3-0, but the last two games have exposed some issues, particularly with the running game. Kubiak has acknowledged that the rushing attack hasn’t been good enough, and despite having Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas managed just 38 rushing yards against New England. Is this primarily an offensive line problem, a schematic problem, or a case of Kubiak still figuring out how to utilize his personnel?
Adam Hill: While the 3-0 start looked great on paper, it doesn’t really hold up under further scrutiny. The three teams the Raiders beat during that run are now a combined 1-14. Still, they were doing some good things during that hot start. Running the ball, however, really wasn’t one of them.
Jeanty suffered an ankle injury during a training camp practice that had everyone around the organization fearing the worst. For about 24 hours, it felt as if he may miss the season. Then testing came back with positive news, and Jeanty worked his way back for the opener.
The explosion just hasn’t been there, though. He’s not gaining much beyond what is blocked for him, and that’s not much at all with the offensive line struggling. It doesn’t help that the Raiders don’t have a downfield threat in the passing game to loosen up defenses. The running game is a definite weakness at this point.
2. How has Taron Johnson looked in Las Vegas?
Joe from Queens: Bills fans know Taron Johnson pretty well after eight seasons in Buffalo. He’s always been a physical nickel corner who can contribute against the run, but there were questions about whether his best football was behind him. How has he looked in Las Vegas? Has his role changed, and how much of an advantage might he have going against an offense and quarterback he practiced against for years?
Adam Hill: Great guy. Everyone says the same things when asked about him. Leader. True professional. Great teammate.
Johnson has been a steadying influence for a young locker room, and his solid play has been a bonus. The remarkable effort he showed on a chasedown tackle of Kenneth Walker to prevent a touchdown against Kansas City was shown in the film room all week.
Taron knows this is going to be an emotional game for him. Talking to him in the locker room, he said he would do everything he could to try to keep it a normal week. But he knows that’s not reality.
As for whether he has some sort of edge from all the reps of the Bills offense he has seen in practice, he said he would like to think so. Yet he also knows it will be different on game day.
3. How long will Kirk Cousins remain the starter?
Joe from Queens: Kirk Cousins has put up some respectable passing numbers, but Fernando Mendoza finally made his NFL debut against New England. Kubiak has maintained that Cousins is his starter, but is there a growing feeling around the organization or fan base that it’s only a matter of time before Mendoza takes over? What would Cousins have to do to keep that conversation from becoming a weekly distraction?
Adam Hill: Kirk Cousins is the starter and will be as long as he is healthy and the Raiders are relevant in the postseason conversation. As of today, they would be the third wild card.
Kubiak runs a complicated offense that rookies have traditionally struggled to pick up right away. It was clear in training camp how far ahead Cousins was in understanding the scheme from the years he previously spent with Kubiak in Minnesota.
It was always the plan to ease the transition for Mendoza, and that’s what the Raiders are doing. They are also entering a brutal portion of the schedule with games against the Bills, Rams, Seahawks and 49ers in the next five weeks. That doesn’t feel like a great situation in which to drop a rookie quarterback.
4. How should Buffalo attack the Raiders’ offense?
Joe from Queens: If you were Buffalo’s defensive coordinator, what would your plan be against Las Vegas? Kubiak likes utilizing multiple tight ends, Brock Bowers remains a major receiving threat, and the offensive line has struggled to establish a consistent running game. Would you focus on pressuring Cousins, taking Bowers away, or forcing the Raiders into obvious passing situations?
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Adam Hill: Brock Bowers is option A, B and C in the passing game. But he’s not a tight end. The Raiders have been lining him up out wide and in the slot. Bowers is essentially playing the JSN role that Kubiak had in his offense with Seattle last year.
Teams have mostly been loading the box to slow the run game, which makes the play-action less effective. None of the receivers really require extra attention.
So the route most teams have taken is to almost just let Bowers do what he’s going to do because there’s not much that can slow him down, and then not let the other pieces of the Raiders offense get going. It’s been working.
5. Where can Josh Allen exploit the Raiders’ defense?
Joe from Queens: The Raiders surrendered 536 yards and 45 points to New England, with Drake Maye having an enormous afternoon. Josh Allen is coming off a game against the Rams in which he rushed for 121 yards, so Buffalo presents another challenge with a mobile quarterback.
If you were Joe Brady, where would you attack this Raiders defense? And with Maxx Crosby recording only two sacks through five games, is his impact still showing up beyond the traditional box score?
Adam Hill: The Raiders did a great job forcing turnovers the first two weeks, which was masking some of their deficiencies. In retrospect, teams may have just been turning the ball over as opposed to being forced into them.
What happened against the Patriots was a pass rush that had largely been effective not finding any way to generate pressure at all. That exposed the young secondary and made the defense look like a disaster.
It became very clear that if they aren’t winning up front, they are very vulnerable.
Crosby still has good advanced metrics, but he really hasn’t been able to finish plays. He is still impactful, though. He just needs more help.
The interior of the defensive line is a work in progress, as is the secondary. Nakobe Dean has been a great find at linebacker, but the Raiders need more playmakers.
The Bills should mostly be able to do what they want offensively, especially in the run game.
6. Were the Raiders’ first three wins fool’s gold?
Joe from Queens: Las Vegas went from a promising 3-0 start to allowing 102 points over its last three games, culminating in that ugly loss to New England. Is this simply a young team experiencing growing pains under a new coaching staff, or did the early winning streak disguise some serious roster problems? Which areas concern you most going into this stretch against Buffalo and the Rams?
Adam Hill: This year is all about setting the foundation for a winning program moving forward. Think of the Bills in 2018.
Klint Kubiak wants this team to learn how to win and grow into his system so that he can build a sustainable winning culture for years to come.
The 3-0 start was fool’s gold. The rebuild may be ahead of schedule, but this is not a contender. They have a long way to go.
My thanks to Adam Hill for taking the time to answer these questions and offer some insight into the Raiders ahead of Sunday’s matchup.
You can follow Adam on X (@AdamHillLVRJ) and read his work at the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
