The Las Vegas Raiders need to start working Marcus Mariota into the offense more, especially with the run game sputtering.
The Las Vegas Raiders went into Dallas and pulled off a stunning victory, as they were big-time underdogs on the road against the 7-3 Cowboys. On the first drive, quarterback Derek Carr was aggressive, hitting DeSean Jackson for a long touchdown, and he would continue to take shots during the game.
While running back Josh Jacobs finished the game with 87 yards on 22 carries, good for a 4.0 YPC average, 21 of them came on one tote. Kenyan Drake struggled in the run game, and the longest run actually came from Carr, who nearly reach 20 miles per hour on his 22-yard scamper.
Another quarterback who got in the mix running the football was Marcus Mariota, who only ran it twice, but one of the runs went for a touchdown, and the Raiders need to start working him in more. Especially with the offense struggling to run, Mariota gives them another weapon, and that is a good thing for Carr.
Raiders need to be multi-faceted on offense
While Carr is having a terrific season throwing the football, going into Sunday’s slate leading the NFL in passing yards, the addition of a Mariota package is only going to help him. The Raiders lost a huge piece when Henry Ruggs III was released, and while Jackson was outstanding on Thursday, we will have to see more of that before we consider it a legitimate part of this offense.
Raiders at Cowboys: Defensive Grades for 2021 Week 12
The Las Vegas Raiders picked up a much-needed victory in Week 12, and here, we take a look at the defensive grades against Dallas.
Being able to show another look with Mariota under center, and Carr split out wide is something teams will have to game plan against, and in the end, that will help open things up for Carr in the passing game. The Raiders were able to score 36 points on Thursday, and both quarterbacks were a big reason why, which is something that needs to continue as they press on for a possible playoff berth.