HENDERSON, Nev. — The Las Vegas Raiders offense has no identity.
This offseason, coach Antonio Pierce and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy outlined a clear vision for how they wanted the unit to look. They planned to use a run-first, physical approach to grind down opponents. They’d supplement that with a passing game centered around quick-hitting concepts to create opportunities for yards after the catch, play-action and shots down the field. As long as they took care of the football, they believed they had the makings of a competitive offense.
Through eight games, none of that has come to fruition. The Raiders are 2-6, and their offensive ineptitude is the primary culprit.
The Raiders are averaging only 18 points per game (26th in the league) and 4.7 yards per play (28th). They’ve managed just 6.4 yards per pass (25th) and 3.6 yards per rush (31st). They’ve committed a league-leading 17 turnovers and scored just 14 touchdowns (T-24th). They have one of the worst offenses in the NFL and have found no real solutions.
“We’re still trying to find our identity,” Pierce said Monday. “We want to run the football. We want to be physical up front and win the line of scrimmage. … Really, (we need better) execution overall, from the team to the coaching staff.”
🔴📽️ Live: Antonio Pierce addresses the media from the Intermountain Health Performance Center. https://t.co/4mMfk2TXzU
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 28, 2024
It’s only fair to point out that the Raiders’ offensive personnel is subpar. Quarterback Gardner Minshew II has been an erratic turnover machine. He was benched in Week 7 but reclaimed his job in Week 8 after Aidan O’Connell suffered a broken thumb that landed him on injured reserve. The Raiders signed Desmond Ridder, but they’re sticking with Minshew as the starter. At this point in his career, there’s little reason to expect improvement from the six-year veteran.
The offensive line was questionable to begin with, and it has gotten worse as injuries are piling up. Right guard Dylan Parham has been out since Week 6 with a foot injury, and center Andre James was unable to finish Sunday’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs due to an ankle injury. That left the Raiders with a line of Kolton Miller at left tackle, Cody Whitehair at left guard, Jackson Powers-Johnson at center, Jordan Meredith at right guard and DJ Glaze at right tackle.
The O-line has been suspect in pass protection, but it has been downright awful at run blocking. The Raiders have one of the least efficient rushing offenses this century, posting an offensive rushing success rate of 26.5 percent, the second-lowest mark of any team since TruMedia began tracking the statistic in 2000.
There’s no difference-maker at running back. Zamir White was handed the keys after the Raiders let Josh Jacobs walk in free agency but was ineffective and lost his job to Alexander Mattison after suffering a groin injury. Mattison has had his moments, but he’s averaging just 3.2 yards per carry.
The Davante Adams-less receiving corps is mediocre at best. And while tight end Brock Bowers is a star, the position group has taken a hit since Michael Mayer stepped away from the team in Week 4 for personal reasons. He was placed on the non-football illness list on Oct. 11 and isn’t eligible to return until Week 11.
That said, Getsy doesn’t get a pass for the state of the offense. His play calling has been conservative, predictable and ineffective. He started calling plays from the press box in Week 7 after spending the first six games on the sidelines, but it hasn’t made a difference. Still, Pierce is adamant the play calling isn’t the issue.
“I’m not going to get into questioning the play calling,” Pierce said Monday. “Nobody calls a play for it to fail. There’s got to be a level of execution and an attention to detail.”
The players have echoed that sentiment.
“I feel comfortable with the plays we’re calling,” Minshew said Sunday. “I think, in a lot of cases, we have to execute better.”
Even if that’s the case, Getsy can’t be absolved of blame for the unit’s lack of execution and attention to detail. The offense has been plagued by pre-snap penalties, misalignment and missed assignments. The Raiders have been serviceable early in games but get sloppy once they’re past the opening play script.
“I think it’s really the details, man,” receiver Jakobi Meyers said Sunday. “We really focus on the details early and we play hard and together. If we can just sustain that for the whole game, then (we’ll be good). It’s just the little things that end up losing us the game.”
While those are player errors, the fact that they keep happening is a coaching issue.
“It’s all of us, right?” Getsy said when asked about the offensive struggles last week. “It’s a team effort, and I really believe that. And I think the inconsistencies are dissipating. … I think every week it gets a little bit better and better. I think the mindset, the understanding of what the objective is, is getting clearer each and every week. … You keep making sure you’re driving the objective of making sure all 11 on the field are on the same page all the time, and that’s really the answer.”
Getsy hasn’t been able to find those answers. Unless the offensive production improves, it’ll get harder for Pierce to justify sticking with him as the play caller.
If the Raiders were to make an in-season change with who’s calling the offense, quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello, receivers coach Edgar Bennett, senior offensive assistant Joe Philbin and pass game coordinator Scott Turner are all former NFL offensive coordinators who could theoretically assume the duties. The Raiders could explain retaining Getsy for the rest of the season, but it’d be hard to rationalize doing so next season unless the offense shows some semblance of progress over the last nine games.
Pierce thinks figuring out the run game is the key. The Raiders are averaging only 22.3 rushing attempts per game (28th) compared to 35.8 pass attempts (fifth). Their inability to run the ball on early downs has led to 51 third-and-long (7 yards or more) attempts, the seventh most in the league. They just aren’t built to thrive in those types of circumstances.
“We’ve got to run the ball,” Pierce said. “We can’t sit there and throw the ball 50 times or 40 times. We haven’t been successful doing that. So we’ll keep pounding.”
Perhaps White deserves another shot after Mattison was limited to 1.1 yards per carry against the Chiefs, but, again, poor blocking is the root of the issue. Whether it’s altering the scheme or shuffling the lineup up front, the Raiders have to fix that for the run game to have any hope of finding consistency.
Pierce has expressed a need for patience with the offense given the new coordinator and new starting quarterback.
“There is a learning curve,” Pierce said. “I don’t think any team that’s in the National Football League with a new offensive coordinator and quarterback are just sitting here jelling right now.”
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The Washington Commanders debunk that theory. New offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels are leading an offense averaging 29.5 points per game, the third-highest total in the league.
Getsy and the Raiders don’t have a Daniels-tier quarterback, obviously, but there’s no excuse for the offense to be this bad. If it continues, they may be unable to escape the pressure for change.
The defense has a fair share of issues, too — it’s allowing 26.3 points per game (27th). But the unit has been depleted by injuries and constantly put in bad situations by an offense that can’t sustain drives, protect the ball or put up points. That has yet to cause problems in the locker room, but it’s something the Raiders can’t allow to persist without holding someone accountable.
“There was no pointing fingers,” Pierce said. “We’ve got to do this for another nine weeks. That’s what we signed up for. It’s not easy. It’s tough. We don’t like it. We wish it was easier. … But we’re still searching for the answers. That’s our job.”
(Photo of Gardner Minshew II getting sacked by George Karlaftis: Candice Ward / Getty Images)
