The Las Vegas Raiders were able to pull out a victory in Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season against the New England Patriots despite some glaring issues. The defense certainly exceeded expectations, but the offensive line, in particular, left plenty to be desired.
They largely kept the pocket clean for quarterback Geno Smith, but when things were bad, they were really bad. The unit gave up 14 pressures, but Smith is fine with a hand in his face. It was the four sacks and four quarterback hits that concerned Raider Nation.
These largely came on stunts and blitzes that Mike Vrabel and defensive coordinator Terrell Williams dialed up. The Las Vegas offensive line was not communicative enough and got confused dealing with the added pressure, which led to the aforementioned sacks and hits.
Raiders' offensive line could have big bounceback against Chargers
Fortunately, Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter is not likely to call a similar game. He tends to have his group sit back and prevent big plays instead of dialing up crazy pressures or stunts to free pass-rushers.
A game plan like this is far more conducive to the Raiders' offensive line having success than the one they faced last week. With the ability to sit back more and diagnose, a unit spearheaded by smart players like Kolton Miller, Jordan Meredith and Dylan Parham should have success.
Last week, according to Warren Sharp, the Patriots blitzed on about 40% of Geno Smith's drop-backs. The Chargers, by contrast, blitzed on just under 15% of Patrick Mahomes' drop-backs in Week 1 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
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Despite this intense pressure, the Raiders gave up a pressure rate of just 23.1% on opening weekend against New England. Mahomes, by contrast, was pressured on 27.7% of his dropbacks even though he was blitzed only about 15% of the time.
This means that the Chargers' front was getting serious push against Kansas City despite not having extra pass-rushers. This will be a challenge, in and of itself, but it is a much different one and way easier for the Raiders' offensive line to handle.
Hopefully, Minter calls a similar game against Las Vegas to the one he did against the Chiefs in Week 1. It will be easy enough for the Raiders to scout and should limit miscommunications, and the unit could use a serious rebound after a tough start to the season.