The Raiders walked into Week 7 needing a clean answer and got something far uglier instead.
Las Vegas was hammered 35-21 by the Los Angeles Rams, and the final score did not fully capture how one-sided it felt. The Raiders did show some fight after halftime, but the damage was already done. Klint Kubiak’s group came out of the game below .500, stuck in a four-game losing streak, and with a pile of issues that only got louder Sunday.
The most urgent concern is on the defensive side, where Rob Leonard’s group has become impossible to ignore for the wrong reasons. The Raiders are allowing 35.8 points per game over the last four weeks, and the Rams rolled up a season-high 179 rushing yards after averaging 84.5 yards per game on the ground over their previous two games.
What stands out even more is how quickly the defense appears to have been solved after Week 3, with no visible answer since. The unit looks lost, missing basic tackles and failing to execute simple concepts.
There’s no easier place to turn than the quarterback spot, and the source material makes it clear the Kirk Cousins experiment has reached its limit. The numbers alone don’t tell the full story.
Cousins isn’t seeing the field well, he can’t move effectively inside or outside the pocket, and blitz pressure shuts him down. The arm strength limitations are showing up too, along with too many missed throws to wide-open targets.
According to the source, this offense has hit its ceiling and will keep sliding until Fernando Mendoza enters the picture.
Maxx Crosby’s recent quiet stretch is another problem that can’t be brushed aside. He has gone without a sack since Week 4, and against the Rams he managed just one pressure, two tackles and two missed tackles.
The piece notes that elite edge rushers get doubled and chipped all the time, but Crosby has to produce anyway. Right now, he isn’t.
Even with all that going wrong, the Raiders did show some backbone after halftime. The article credits the team for not folding, pointing to better adjustments - or perhaps a Rams slowdown - in the second half.
The first half was disjointed and shaky, but Las Vegas at least made the score feel more manageable late. The effort was there.
The execution wasn’t.
Tre Tucker, meanwhile, keeps making the case for a payday. Nearly 100 of Cousins’ passing yards came on plays where Tucker did most of the work, and the receiver added five catches for 103 yards and a touchdown in Week 7. The Raiders are being warned not to wait too long here; Tucker is building a strong 2026 résumé, and the time to lock him up is now before his market gets even hotter.
Ashton Jeanty’s usage is also under the microscope. The source argues he has been more effective as a receiver than as a runner, and that his role should mirror Christian McCaffrey’s.
Mike Washington Jr. has been more efficient and more dangerous as a ball-carrier, but Jeanty has emerged as a truly elite pass-catching option out of the backfield. That’s where the Raiders should lean into him.
Up front, the line may need a shake-up too, and Jackson Powers-Johnson is the obvious name to discuss. The Raiders were 3-1 with a close loss to the Kansas City Chiefs when he was in the lineup, and they’ve gone 0-3 with two blowout defeats since he was sidelined.
The interior line has been a mess, and the source suggests the team has no real excuse to keep everything the same. Tyler Linderbaum is not getting benched, but Caleb Rogers and Spencer Burford should not feel secure.
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 🡒]