What we're seeing from the Las Vegas Raiders: Injuries hampering the defense

HENDERSON, Nev. — Losing one of your best players has to affect a locker room, even if your team is one of the youngest in the league. And while receiver Davante Adams hasn’t been traded yet, it seems he’s as good as gone, and the rest of the Las Vegas Raiders have to deal with the distraction and process it as quickly as possible.

“We all love Davante, but understand he’s got to make the best decision for him,” quarterback Gardner Minshew II said this week. “We’ve got to keep moving forward and try to figure out how to win games. … Our job is to get out there and practice … and trust that the guys upstairs are going to make the right decisions for our team.”

The Raiders are 2-2 and have learned a lot about their team before Adams’ trade request on Monday. Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed broke down the six biggest things they picked up from watching the Raiders’ first four games.

The defense has gone from a strength to a weakness

The Raiders defense was legitimately good last season, and they believed it could become a great one following the addition of defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. Instead, it’s taken a significant step back.

Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham’s unit is allowing 24.3 points per game (24th) and 5.6 yards per play (24th). The Raiders have been solid against the pass — they’re holding opponents to 6.9 yards per attempt (13th) — but awful against the run as they’ve surrendered 5.1 yards per rush (30th).

Injuries have been a big factor. Defensive end Malcolm Koonce was lost for the season after tearing his ACL. Safety Marcus Epps is also out for the year after a Week 3 ACL tear. Defensive end Maxx Crosby has missed the last week-plus with a high ankle sprain. Linebacker Divine Deablo has been out since suffering an oblique injury in Week 2. That’s four starters.

The secondary has been fine — safety Isaiah Pola-Mao started in place of Epps in Week 4 and looked the part — but the defensive front has taken a big hit. In addition to struggling to stop the run, the Raiders haven’t been able to rush the passer, with just eight sacks (T-21st) and a pressure rate of 25.5 percent (31st).

Defensive ends Charles Snowden, Tyree Wilson, Janarius Robinson and K’Lavon Chaisson aren’t equipped to make up for the absences of Crosby and Koonce. Still, the Raiders remain hopeful Crosby can get back to full strength before long.

“It’s a long season,” head coach Antonio Pierce said. “At the end of the day, my job is to protect Maxx Crosby from Maxx Crosby. If it was up to Maxx, he’d be out there practicing every day and (playing) in every game and wouldn’t miss one snap. We’ve seen that over the years, but I think you look at the player and the organization and you’ve got to do what’s best for both.”

Minshew, passing attack need to be more aggressive

Minshew’s numbers so far are solid. He has completed 70.7 percent of his passes (sixth in the NFL) for 877 yards (14th), three touchdowns (T-24th) and three interceptions (T-11th most).

The overall effectiveness of the passing game, however, has been lacking. Minshew hasn’t been able to find a consistent rhythm, often holds the ball too long and is struggling with his accuracy on intermediate-to-deep throws. Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy has largely limited his play calling to quick-hitting throws.

Minshew has averaged just 7.1 yards per attempt (18th) and 6.5 air yards per attempt (18th). Only 17.9 percent of his passes have traveled 15 or more air yards (16th) according to TruMedia.

Thread that needle 🪡#CLEvsLV | 📺 @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/Hl3DRjGuiw

— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) September 29, 2024

The focus on the short passing game has provided opportunities for playmakers such as receiver Tre Tucker and tight end Brock Bowers to make plays in space, but the offense hasn’t been able to stretch the field vertically. That makes it easier for defenses to sit on underneath routes in the pass game and load up the box against the run.

Without Adams, defenses will likely play more single-high safety and challenge the Raiders offense to beat them deep. The Raiders will need to get more aggressive through the air to keep defenses honest.

Jakorian Bennett playing like one of the NFL’s best CBs

The Raiders were counting on a big year from cornerback Jack Jones and hoped second-year man Jakorian Bennett wouldn’t have too much trouble as he learned on the job. A competition for that spot with Brandon Facyson never materialized, as the veteran suffered an undisclosed injury and was eventually let go.

It was boom or bust with Bennett — and he has been very boom. After losing his starting job as a rookie, Bennett has gotten more physical and better in coverage thanks to his improved vision and anticipation. He ranks third in the league with six pass breakups and has allowed only six catches on 15 targets for 71 yards, per TruMedia. He also is making plays in crucial moments and has four pass breakups on third down (T-most).

“The guy just keeps improving each and every down,” Pierce said. “(He has) great technique, and credit to his position coaches for just working on that off to the side … and him just being focused and being detailed.”

With Adams out, Getsy should keep leaning into creativity

After three games of getting nothing from the run game, Getsy pulled out all the stops against the Cleveland Browns. There was a direct handoff to Bowers, a reverse handoff to Tucker, a jet sweep to receiver DJ Turner, a handoff to receiver Tyreik McAllister out of the backfield and plenty of traditional handoffs to running backs Zamir White and Alexander Mattison. The Raiders also mixed in more mid-zone running concepts after primarily utilizing wide-zone concepts through the first three games.

STICKS WITH THE SPEED!!!#CLEvsLV | 📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/u45u6Retvk

— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) September 29, 2024

The result was 29 carries for 152 yards and two touchdowns. Getsy should keep leaning into it Sunday against the Denver Broncos and beyond.

Getsy will also have to open up the passing game with Adams out of the picture. The Raiders can’t easily replace a receiver of his caliber, but they can use the weapons they do have — receiver Jakobi Meyers, Tucker, Bowers and tight end Michael Mayer, who’s currently away from the team for personal reasons — in a more dynamic fashion.

After a rough start, the offensive line is trending up

General manager Tom Telesco was impressed that the Raiders’ five blockers up front were the aggressors against the Browns, something that hadn’t been the case earlier in the season. The emergence of rookie guard Jackson Powers-Johnson and rookie right tackle DJ Glaze was a big part of that, as was the return of left tackle Kolton Miller.

The Raiders ran for that season-high 152 yards in the Week 4 win, and while some of that was jet sweeps and runs by receivers, the line opened up some holes for White and Mattison. Getsy was preaching patience as players got used to the new wide-zone attack, and that’s part of the improvement as well.

The Broncos will be a tough test Sunday with their blitzes and stunts and constant pressure. Can this line and offense make any noise without Adams?

Pierce is enduring some growing pains

One had to figure there would be some ups and downs this season with Pierce, who had never been a head coach in college or the NFL before taking over as interim coach last year. But no one could have predicted these last two weeks.

Pierce’s team was embarrassed in its home opener and routed by the then-winless Carolina Panthers. Then an upset Pierce said afterward that some of his players made “business decisions” and didn’t go all out. That should have been addressed in-house. Instead, players had fans on social media tagging them with plays where they looked to be loafing — and, let’s be honest, when you’re down 33-7 in the fourth quarter, self-preservation is not an uncommon thought.

Pierce later apologized for opening up the can of worms, and his team responded with a win over the Browns without Adams and Crosby. But then, on Monday, Pierce appeared to “like” an Instagram post insinuating that Adams would be traded, Adams mentioned that on national television and here we are.

Oh … and on Thursday, the NCAA dropped an eight-year penalty on Pierce for recruiting violations while coaching at Arizona State.

Pierce has to learn from all of this, and while winning is always the primary goal, he needs to limit the drama for the rest of this season. He has done a good job of pushing his team forward, but he needs to stop creating messes himself.

“I don’t blink, I don’t flinch,” Pierce said on Wednesday. “The next obstacle in front of me is the Denver Broncos.”