The Las Vegas Raiders offense has been driven to address significant deficiencies

The Las Vegas Raiders are averaging the second fewest rushing yards per attempt and per game in the National Football League this season.

They have the fewest first downs and have the second fewest total yards in the league. The Raiders had one of the worst rushing attacks in the league last season. A year later, many of the same problems exist.

When presented with the idea of moving away from running back entirely, Raiders coach Antonio Pierce explained that it wasn’t an option. The Raiders already have the fifth fewest rushing attempts in the league, if they get away from the run more than they already have, that could be the worst case scenario for an offense that is already struggling in many areas.

For Pierce, the idea of becoming a pass-happy offense is one he’d rather not try. Given the poor play the Raiders have had this season, Pierce’s determination to stick with the running back makes sense, even if he isn’t very productive. With the departure of All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams, the Raiders wide receiver group is pedestrian at best. While the emergence of Brock Bowers has helped, the offense is still not good enough to completely abandon the run.

“Oh no, we’ve got to get the ball rolling,” Pierce said. “I can’t do that. We can’t sit there and throw the ball 50 times, 40 times. We didn’t get it done. So we’re going to keep hitting again. Wednesday, we’re going to be back out there early and we find a way to run the ball, we don’t try to have different packages. We put (Thayer) on Munford and try to put him there, whatever it takes to win the line of scrimmage.”

Running the ball takes pressure off struggling Raiders quarterbacks and keeps the clock running. Keeping the clock running shortens the game for a depleted Raiders team, which helped the Raiders hold off the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday. Even though the Raiders only rushed for 33 yards, they ran the ball 21 times, helping to shorten the game.

While Raiders could continue to struggle to run the ball this season, their offensive game plan to keep Mahomes off the court could be worth replicating against opponents in the future. This could be the blueprint for the Raiders to win more games. If he was good enough to beat the Chiefs, he should be good enough to beat most teams in the league if the Raiders are still trying to win games this season, that is.

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