Raiders' Self-Inflicted Wounds Undermine Criticism of Jets

The Las Vegas Raiders are facing internal challenges that undermine their ability to criticize opponents, as highlighted by running back Ashton Jeanty's public comments about certain New York Jets players' willingness to tackle. The Raiders' own significant struggles in both rushing offense and defensive tackling have led to a four-game losing streak and erased the goodwill from their initial 3-0 start.

Jeanty's remarks, suggesting some Jets players avoid contact, were met with eye-rolling within the Raiders organization, as the team grapples with its own deficiencies. "Couple guys out there that don’t really want to tackle," Jeanty reportedly said, though he declined to name names. However, the irony was not lost on observers, given the Raiders' own issues.

During their recent losing streak, the Raiders have been outgained significantly in rushing yards, surrendering 656 yards while gaining only 223. This disparity means they are allowing nearly three yards for every one they gain on the ground. The Los Angeles Rams alone accounted for 199 of those yards in a recent game, exposing the Raiders' inability to stop the run. Through seven games, the Raiders' offense ranks third-worst in the NFL in rushing with 523 yards and second-worst in yards per carry at 3.0.

Defensively, the Raiders' tackling performance has also been a point of concern. They have missed 41 tackles, the eighth-most in the league, with a missed-tackle rate of 9.4 percent, ranking 23rd. Their Pro Football Focus tackling grade stands at 51.8.

Linebacker Nakobe Dean acknowledged the team's tackling issues, stating, "We know we got to tackle. You don’t be like, ‘All right, our game plan this week is a tackle.’ It’s a given, you got to tackle." Coach Klint Kubiak echoed these sentiments, attributing run-stopping problems to issues with "tackling, alignment, and assignment," emphasizing the need to "play a better brand of football."

These defensive shortcomings have a cascading effect on the offense. When the Raiders fall behind due to poor run defense, their opportunities to establish their own struggling ground game diminish. "You can’t be in the fourth quarter chasing points and expect to be a good run team," Kubiak explained. "So, you need attempts, and in order to get those attempts, then we have to stop the run, and we have to keep our opponent out of the end zone."

The interconnectedness of the Raiders' problems was further underscored by defensive end Maxx Crosby. When asked about the run defense, Crosby offered a blunt assessment: "I don’t know. There’s a lot of pieces to it, you know what I mean. But it’s just not good enough, simple and plain."

Ultimately, the Raiders' focus needs to be on self-improvement rather than critiquing opponents. The lesson from Jeanty's comments extends beyond keeping scouting observations private; it's about recognizing that their own vulnerabilities are visible to every other team in the league. The Rams saw them last week, and the Jets can see them now. The team must now translate this awareness into tangible action on the field.