Oakland Raiders: The Good, Bad, And Ugly In Loss To The Chiefs

The Ugly: The Ground(ed) Game

After opening up the first three weeks of the season with one of the league’s very top rushing attacks, the Raiders have regressed and haven’t been able to run for squat the last three. And that lack of ability in the running game was on display again against the Chiefs.

You could almost give the team a pass for their lack of rushing punch the previous two weeks. They faced the league’s second best run defense in Baltimore and the following week, the league’s seventh best run defense in San Diego. It’s tough to run on those teams.

But against Kansas City, they were facing a team with one of the worst rushing defenses in the league. It seemed like a matchup well suited for the Raiders to have a big day on the ground.

Yeah, not so much as it turns out.

For the day, the Raiders finished with 65 rushing yards. Total. DeAndre Washington led the way with 49 yards on ten carries, Jalen Richard chipped in a whopping eight yards on four carries, and Carr added eight more yards on three carries. And that was it.

Yes, this team has been hurt by injuries along the offensive line. That has impacted their ability to run the ball. And yes, this team is really missing having Latavius Murray in the rotation. He’s the thunder to the lightning provided by Richard and Washington. Not having the three headed beast in the lineup hurts this offense. No question about it.

But this is a run defense that even the New York Jets were able to light up for more than 100 yards. And the Raiders couldn’t even manage that.

Not having the threat of a running game allowed the defense to focus on Carr and the passing game – which contributed significantly to the demise of the offense.

And for a game, it felt like 2015 all over again.