The Las Vegas Raiders lost their fourth straight game on Sunday to the Los Angeles Rams. Overall, it was an ugly performance, though Klint Kubiak's team did rally late and made it a 28-18 game at one point in the fourth quarter.
But this team continues to have recurring issues. The Silver and Black can’t run the ball or stop the run, as the Rams ran for 199 yards on Las Vegas, while the Raiders mustered only 48 yards on the ground.
Las Vegas' passing game struggled in the first half but bounced back in the second when the Rams started to play zone coverage. Cousins finished with 295 yards and two touchdowns, and Tre Tucker had his second 100-yard game in a row.
The advanced stats paint a picture of a team with a few glaring weaknesses that teams can exploit on Sundays, particularly with heavy personnel.
Raiders' struggles against heavy personnel were obvious in Week 7
Rams' run-heavy personnel hurt Raiders badly
One of the Raiders' weaknesses is how they match up against 13 personnel. The Buffalo Bills took advantage of it in Week 6, and the Rams saw it on film and decided to duplicate it. They had even more success.
The Rams ran 13 personnel on 50 percent of their snaps, which is 41 percent above league average. This shows that Las Vegas' run defense has a major issue against these heavy sets. The defensive tackles are not holding down the fort, which is leading to chunk runs for the opposing offense.
Luckily for the Raiders, not every team will try to duplicate this look. The Rams already ran 13 personnel more than any team in the league, so it was easy for them to exploit this. But don't be surprised if other teams replicate this in whatever way they can going forward.
LA sending extra rushers threw Las Vegas' offense out of whack
One thing the Patriots did to slow down the Raiders' passing offense was blitz the quarterback. Kirk Cousins struggled against the blitz, going 4-for-8 in Week 5. The Rams saw this on film and sent the house in the first half, limiting the Raiders to just six points.
According to PFF, Cousins was 6-for-13 against the Blitz. Sumer Sports says the Rams turned up the heat in the first half, sending a blitz 25% of the time. The Raiders' offensive line struggled against the cover 0 looks, and Cousins was inaccurate under pressure.
The Rams only blitzed 11% of the time in the second half, which is why Las Vegas had more success. The Raiders need to fix this if they want to move the ball through the air. With Aaron Glenn and the Jets on deck for Week 8, expect the Jets to send the house early and often.
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