Raiders placing emphasis on fixing early-season Achilles heel
Derek Hegna
Host · Writer
After back-to-back setbacks to dampen the enthusiasm around a strong start, the Las Vegas Raiders are getting a closer look at the flaws in their plans.
While the Raiders have seen multiple areas where progress is necessary, Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak has stressed that they cannot address everything to the point of overwhelming the players.
“You got to keep it bite-sized,” mentioned Kubiak on Wednesday when asked about what he and the coaching staff were zeroing in on this week.
“If you’re going to try to accomplish something, then you got to be very intentional about these things, and if your list is trying to do ten things, it’s probably not going to be very good at them. Just trying to give them intentional coaching points that we can accomplish each day.”
One of the major points of emphasis that has stood out throughout the season is the running game, something that the Raiders have previously emphasized in attempting to fix.
Heading into Week Six, the Raiders currently sit in last in the NFL averaging three yards per carry. The inefficiency was not helped by Sunday’s loss to the New England Patriots, which saw the Raiders have to abandon the running game after finding themselves in an early hole they could not climb out of.
Adding to the concern is the continued questions surrounding the health of running back Ashton Jeanty, which have persisted since the end of training camp.
Most recently, Jeanty was found on the injury report against the Patriots from Thursday onward with ankle and foot injuries. While the sophomore running back did play through the game, that did not stop a new wave of questions from forming. Despite reports suggesting otherwise, Kubiak stressed that Jeanty was playing against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
“I think Ashton is starting to feel a lot better physically,” said Kubiak about an update on Jeanty. “Excited about giving even more reps in practice and more full-speed reps.”
Outside of Jeanty regaining form and obtaining a clean bill of health, other running backs in the rotation can be useful in shoring things up on the ground.
Dylan Laube recorded his first career touchdown against the Patriots, while Mike Washington Jr. is still showing signs of progress. Although Washington is still learning the intricacies of the position, Kubiak did suggest that there was an opening for further opportunities for the fourth-round rookie. How he responds will determine the touches he gets, but Washington has earned the trust of the coaching staff and his team.
“Mike has a lot of juice and I think he’s been showing that going back to practices,” said quarterback Kirk Cousins about Washington.
“Mike’s one of those guys that I think good things happen when the football’s in his hand, and you want those kind of guys on your team and you want them impacting the game.”
This week represents an opportunity for the Raiders to get some things working offensively, as the Bills defense ranks fifth in the NFL for most points given up (28.2 points per game).
If there was a week to unlock the rushing game and creating the foundation for a turnaround, Jeanty and the running backs have their moment to get it going.
