Las Vegas Raiders run defense is a cause for concern

The Las Vegas Raiders defense contained former MVP Cam Newton, but could not stop the New England Patriots’ run game in their Week 3 loss.

In the lead up to the game, most experts agreed that if the Las Vegas Raiders could take Cam Newton out of the equation, they would have a chance at beating the New England Patriots. On Sunday, the Raiders did just that, but it was not enough as they were repeatedly gashed by the Patriots’ rushing attack.

Newton was on an absolute tear as he accounted for 230 total yards and two touchdowns in Week 1 and an absurd 444 yards and three touchdowns in Week 2, and looked to have a big game against a struggling Raider defense. Instead, Newton accounted for just 190 yards against the Raiders, and was largely ineffective on the ground.

The Raiders limited Newton to 27 yards on the ground with 21 of them coming on one play and he made little impact through the air.

By just looking at Newton’s box score, one would think that the Raiders did a masterful job defensively as the Patriots do not have many other weapons that can really hurt you. Unfortunately for the Raiders, they were indeed hurt by those “other weapons,” as they were repeatedly gashed on the ground by the unremarkable trio of Patriot running backs.

The Raiders defense made backup running back Rex Burkhead look like Marshall Faulk, as he racked 98 total yards and three total touchdowns. He made defenders miss in the open field and was the player of the game by far for the Patriots.

Sony Michel had just the fifth 100 yard game of his career and his second-highest yardage total with 117 yards on an absurd nine carries. JJ Taylor, an undrafted rookie, ran through the Raider defense with ease and added to the incredible total of 250 rushing yards that the Silver and Black gave up.