It is amazing how far in the rearview mirror the Las Vegas Raiders' 3-0 start to the 2026 NFL season feels amid this four-game losing streak. Fans knew that the middle of the schedule was hellish, but they hoped that the team would be more competitive than it has been in two of the last three games.
This is a young team led by a young coaching staff, and the Raiders added so many new pieces this offseason. These things take time, and perhaps The Nation got a bit out over its skis, expecting stuff to change more quickly than it typically does. But that doesn't minimize the hurt of such a brutal loss.
And it doesn't benefit anyone to be economical with the truth. Not in the building, and not here at Just Blog Baby. So, let's go over the several egregious negatives from Las Vegas' 35-21 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 7, but we'll start with a few silver linings from the contest, to be entirely fair.
Positives and negatives from Raiders' dismal loss to the Rams
Silver linings
1. Tre Tucker played well again
Tucker is certainly not the problem with the Raiders' offense. I wish the team would find a way to get him the ball before the game is effectively over, but Tucker is undoubtedly a difference-maker when utilized in the proper way and when the quarterback actually gets it to him. He finished Sunday's game with five catches for 103 yards and a touchdown, adding to his impressive total this season.
2. Special teams took a step in the right direction
Dylan Laube was awesome as a kick returner once again, which made it all the more puzzling why Los Angeles even kicked it his way. And Matt Gay's first onside kick actually looked better before it was thwarted by the referees not being set up. A.J. Cole's fake punt pass to Connor Heyward was a bright spot in the game as well, so this unit was very good and did its job, outside of a Matt Gay missed FG.
3. Fernando Mendoza time has to be near
Perhaps the biggest silver lining from this contest is that serious questions now have to be asked in the building about replacing Kirk Cousins with Fernando Mendoza. I get that the offense hasn't really been an issue, and that Cousins has largely played fine, but teams have figured out how to stop him. And it's not a fixable issue. Mendoza is the answer; the Raiders just need to take the leap.
Negatives
1. Rob Leonard
Whew. That was a rough one for Rob Leonard. Sean McVay is an elite, all-time play-caller, and Las Vegas did make some second-half adjustments, but it was too little, too late. Missed tackles were an issue, but even more critical were miscommunications, a lack of discipline, and an inability to adjust on the fly before the damage was done. For the first time, Leonard really looked in over his head.
2. Kirk Cousins
Box score watchers may defend Cousins after this one, but anyone who watched the game should have seen how much he limits the Raiders' offense. Blitzing is free money for an opposing defense, as Cousins has so little mobility and arm strength left that he can't reliably evade defenders to find throws downfield, and when he does, he can't get the ball there off-platform. It is Mendoza time.
3. Maxx Crosby
Where has Maxx Crosby been?
Oddly enough, his snap share has increased back close to where it has been over the last few years, so the "giving him rest" plan has been abandoned. And with that increase in run, Crosby has done nothing with it. No big plays against the run, no getting after the quarterback. No punching the ball out or batting passes. Just 4 tackles and 1 for a loss, with 1 pressure and 2 missed tackles.
For $35.8 million.
4. Run defense was porous, as always
The Raiders, miraculously, did not give up 100 yards to any one player on Sunday. They just gave up 99 yards and a touchdown to Kyren Williams and 93 yards and a score to Blake Corum. Seriously,, Las Vegas got gashed for 199 yards on the ground at 5.2 yards per clip, which is just unacceptable. This has been an issue all season, and there is no sign of things changing or getting any better.
5. Caleb Rogers
Rogers was not one of the main issues in Week 7, but I am struggling to understand why he replaced Jackson Powers-Johnson. He gave up a pressure in the passing game, and the Raiders ran the ball 7 times either directly inside or outside of him, and they gained... wait for it... 1 yard. Total. He let several plays get blown up as well, so it was a forgettable performance for the second-year pro.
6. Run game has still yet to get going
Ashton Jeanty found zero holes against the Rams, and Mike Washington Jr. found one big one before not getting anywhere else the rest of the game. The former finished with 8 carries for 15 yards (1.9 per rush) and the latter had 6 runs for 27 yards (4.5 per carry), but 21 of them came on a single play. The run-blocking is bad at times, but these backs could be doing more with the cards they are dealt.
7. Inability to cover TEs popped up again
An underrated flaw of the Raiders' defense (because they have so many glaring ones) is their inability to cover tight ends. And on National Tight End Day, Los Angeles had a field day, as their trio of Davis Allen, Colby Parkinson and Tyler Higbee combined for 11 catches for 82 yards and 2 touchdowns. Las Vegas made it way too easy on them, even knowing their wide receiver corps was decimated.
8. No pass rush once more
Crosby is the head of the snake, so he shoulders a lot of the blame, but nobody else really got home either. Matthew Stafford has been awful under pressure, and to nobody's surprise, he was great on Sunday because the Raiders couldn't get to him. On 32 dropbacks, Stafford was sacked just once and hit one time. Las Vegas mustered only 6 pressures, and Tonka Hemingway led the way with 2.
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