The Las Vegas Raiders‘ rushing attack remains a significant worry, a problem underscored by their 41-24 loss to the Washington Commanders on September 21 at Northwest Stadium.
In the defeat, the Raiders managed only 93 rushing yards, with rookie Ashton Jeanty pacing the group with 63 yards. The 21-year-old had 17 carries, averaging 3.7 yards per attempt.
While it’s a slight improvement, Las Vegas will need a far more effective ground game to find consistent success moving forward. While most of the focus is on Jeanty, NFL analyst Mark Schlereth called out the Raiders’ offensive line for their poor blocking.
The concern is the Raiders couldn’t block their way out of a wet paper sack,” Schlereth said during an appearance on the September 23 edition of the “Rich Eisen Show.”
“I’ve got a couple of guys on there. Daron Payne for Washington is a really good player, and I think they’ve got a bunch of really good players, but they don’t have anybody other than Daron Payne who’s an absolute war daddy on that line of scrimmage. [The Raiders] offensive line was awful. It was purely awful in this game.”
Raiders O-Line to Blame for Lack of Run Game
As a former offensive lineman in the NFL, Schlereth knows the position. Moreover, he focused on the area of the unit that stood out to him in a negative way, and it’s something that the Raiders will need to fix if they want to run the football consistently.
“Being unable to block anybody and then Ashton learning exactly what he is supposed to do is a bad combination right off the start,” Schlereth added. “I thought the right side of their offensive line, with their right tackle and their right guard, was just subpar at best. That’s probably an insult to subpar things, but they were subpar at best.”
Raiders Teammates Back Ashton Jeanty
Las Vegas can’t count on Geno Smith throwing the ball 30-plus times every game and expect to come out on top. The Raiders need a reliable running attack to ease the load on the veteran quarterback. However, the running game can’t get going if the offensive line isn’t pulling its weight and generating the running lanes needed for Jeanty.
Jeanty is only three games into his NFL career and still adjusting to life in the pros. The Raiders‘ 2025 first-round pick is working through which parts of his college game will translate. In the meantime, Smith has been offering guidance to his young teammate.
“Just sticking with it,” Smith told reporters postgame. “It’s not college—I mean, that’s the reality. It’s a big boy league, and it’s going to be tough every week. There are no cupcakes. There are no lollypops. It’s big boy football, week in and week out. We’ve got to help him all around him. We’ve got to be better so that he can go out there and show what he can do, because he can do it.
He showed it in the NFL. He can do it. He’s running guys over, making guys miss. We’ve just got to open up space for him. I’ve got to get some better checks, get some better run calls, so that he can go out there and showcase what he’s capable of.”
Raiders Offensive Line Called Out Amid Ashton Jeanty Struggles