Oakland Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers: 5 takeaways from Week 5
By Brad Weiss
Have to feed the Beast
The fact that Marshawn Lynch ran the ball nine times is atrocious, and if the Raiders continue to be so one-sided with the football, it is going to be a long season. Lynch came into the game as one of the NFL’s top backs, already rushing for 300 yards on the season, but he was rendered useless on Sunday.
To make matters worse, the Raiders did not even give him the ball when it is absolutely necessary to feed a player with his skill set. Staring at a First-and-Goal from the one-yard line, the Raiders instead opted to roll out Derek Carr, who proceeded to throw the ball to Melvin Ingram, who plays linebacker for the Chargers.
When the Raiders offense is rolling, it is because Lynch is keeping the defense off balance by running over, or around the defenders. Relying on Carr to throw it over 30 times a game, while the Raiders run the ball only 13 times as a team, is a recipe for disaster no matter what team you are playing.