Miami Dolphins at Las Vegas Raiders: 3 things we learned in Week 3

Miami Dolphins at Las Vegas Raiders: 3 things we learned in Week 3

The offensive line is still a work in progress

When the Raiders made their major changes along the offensive line this offseason, it was a major cause for concern, as they moved on from a couple of very good players.  Rodney Hudson has been considered one of the top centers in all of the NFL, right guard Gabe Jackson was one of the lone holdovers from the previous era, and right tackle Trent Brown was dominant anytime he stepped on the field for the Raiders.

The problem with Brown when he was on the team was he wasn’t on the field very often, but Gruden had so much confidence in Andre James that the Raiders signed him to a contract extension before the season ever began.  They also drafted right tackle Alex Leatherwood with the 17th overall pick to replace Brown, and figured moving Denzelle Good back to his natural position at right guard would make the changes seamless.

Las Vegas also would have Richie Incognito returning from injury, but as the season has gotten underway, the plans have gone up in smoke. Incognito is hurt again, Good is lost for the year, and James has shown that he is a work in progress.

However, despite all those challenges, they haven’t given up more than three sacks in any single game yet against three pretty ferocious defensive lines.  Not only that, after struggling to run the ball the first two games, the Raiders finally went over the century mark in rushing yards against this Miami defense.

Third-string running back and a former Washington Football Team practice squad player Peyton Barber took full advantage of his time with Jacobs out of the lineup, and alongside Kenyan Drake, rushed for 111 yards in the contest.  This offensive line is still young and trying to gel after multiple injuries have affected the original outlook of the team, but after all the Raiders are still undefeated with this line that still has a lot of improvement to do.