The Raiders didn’t just lose to the Rams on Sunday. They spent the afternoon looking like a team stuck in mud from the opening snap to the final whistle.
Las Vegas was beaten 35-21, and the damage went far beyond the final score. The offense had no rhythm early, the defense couldn’t keep the game from slipping away, and the Raiders found themselves buried 28-3 before they could really get rolling. By then, the hole was too deep.
“It’s very disappointing. I thought our guys were ready to play. We just didn’t execute early in the game.”
That was Klint Kubiak, who again took the blame after another rough outing for a team that is now on a four-game losing streak since its 3-0 start. The Raiders did show a pulse late in the third quarter and early in the fourth, when Kirk Cousins threw touchdown passes to Tre Tucker and Ashton Jeanty to cut the deficit to 28-18. But the missed two-point tries kept the pressure on, and the Rams answered with another touchdown to shut the door.
“We have to make plays,” Kubiak said as the Raiders came up empty on fourth down three times while trying to extend drives or punch the ball into the end zone. “We have to make throws.
We have to make catches. It didn’t happen.”
The bigger issue was everything around that. The Raiders have now allowed 30 or more points in four straight games, and Sunday only added to the pile of problems.
The running game never got going, with Mike Washington Jr.’s 21-yard run in the second quarter standing as the team’s longest gain on the ground. Up front, the offensive line struggled to protect Cousins, and the Rams brought consistent pressure even without Myles Garrett.
On defense, the familiar issues showed up again: missed tackles, blown assignments and too many explosive plays allowed. When the offense can’t keep pace, the defense is supposed to hold the line. Instead, the dam broke.
“It’s about doing the little things,” linebacker Quay Walker said. “It’s about technique.
It’s about communication. We just have to go out there and execute.”
Safety Isaiah Pola-Mao pointed to the same theme.
“It’s everybody involved,” he said. "We have to make plays when called upon. It comes down to that.
“it’s about being complementary. It’s about creating a turnover and giving the offense the ball where they can score. That’s the name of the game.”
That was the Raiders early in the season, when they raced out to a 3-0 record. It feels much further away now. The fast start has been wiped out, the optimism has evaporated, and the questions are getting louder.
One of them is whether Fernando Mendoza should start next Sunday in the Meadowlands against the Jets. The argument is simple: maybe he can’t do any worse.
But the problem is bigger than one quarterback. If the line can’t block, if the run game can’t function and if the offense can’t give him room to breathe, then the move becomes a dangerous one.
Kubiak was asked if he would consider a quarterback change.
“We have to watch the film. We have to think a lot about everything.”
There are 10 games left, and the trade deadline on Nov. 10 is another possible turning point if John Spytek decides to shuffle pieces. But this is not a one-solution fix. The Raiders’ flaws are all showing at once, and opponents are taking full advantage.
The team that looked so promising after Week 3 now looks a lot like the one that went 3-14 a year ago. And for a fan base that doesn’t have much patience for losing, Sunday was the kind of performance that only makes the noise louder.
In Other News...
Raiders Defensive Line Shuffle Could Matter More Than Fans Realize
The Raiders Week 7 inactive list brought a quiet but meaningful tweak to the interior of their defense, with the team setting its depth before facing the Rams. Las Vegas also listed Aidan OConnell as the emergency third quarterback, but the bigger roster note was up front, where the defensive tackle rotation will look different than it did a week ago.
Tim Keenan III was elevated from the practice squad and is set for his Raiders debut, a move that adds fresh legs to a group trying to hold up against a Rams offense that has Puka Nacua available. The timing matters for Las Vegas, too, because Thomas Booker IV and Jonah Laulu are inactive, leaving the Raiders to manage the middle of the line with a thinner margin than usual. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Suddenly Have A New Worry About The Rams Passing Game
The Raiders preparation for the Rams just got a little trickier, because Los Angeles is still holding out hope that Puka Nacua will be available for the matchup despite the calf issue that had him on the injury report. Nacua was feeling better Saturday and is now being treated as a game-time decision, which matters even more for a Rams passing game that already lost Davante Adams to a hamstring injury.
For Las Vegas, the concern is less about any one name than what happens if Nacua suits up and becomes the centerpiece of the Rams aerial attack. With Adams unavailable, Los Angeles is leaning harder on the passing game than it otherwise would, and the Raiders will have to plan for the possibility that Nacua is on the field after all. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Have A Real Chance To Exploit One Rams Weakness
The Raiders head into Week 7 with a matchup that could tilt in their favor if they can press a Rams roster dealing with injury issues at wide receiver. Las Vegas has reasons to like this spot, too, especially with its own tight end group looking like a usable part of the passing game and the Rams potentially forced to lean more heavily on their tight ends to keep the offense moving.
For the Raiders, that creates an opening to attack a weakened spot while still leaning into what has been one of their more workable personnel groupings. Michael Mayer and Dylan Laube are both names to watch in that conversation, since the game could push Las Vegas toward more involvement from the tight end position and more opportunity for backfield help in passing situations, even if the exact shape of that usage remains to be seen. [Read more 🡒]