The Las Vegas Raiders have dropped their last two games, quickly falling to 3-2 after a surprising 3-0 start. While many analysts are convinced that the Raiders have come back to reality, the team will be out to prove that they are a serious team who just had a hiccup. Unfortunately, Las Vegas’ next opportunity to get back on track will be against one of the toughest tests in the league.
The Raiders will face off against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, who will enter the Week 6 matchup at 4-1. The Bills are a perennial contender, and they are led by star quarterback Josh Allen, who takes over games with his arms and legs.
While winning may be considered a talk task for Las Vegas, this is the NFL, and anything could happen once teams lineup. If the Raiders are going to win, though, they will have to contain Josh Allen the runner.
Raiders must contain Josh Allen’s running to win against Bills
The thing that makes Josh Allen so special is that he’s a true dual-threat quarterback, showing elite ability with his arm and legs. In his career, Allen has 31,351 yards and 227 touchdowns through the air, and 4,960 yards and 87 touchdowns on the ground. That’s only his regular season numbers in his eight and a half seasons.
Allen is coming off an overtime win against the Los Angeles Rams, where he threw for 210 yards and ran for 121 — getting a score each way. If the Raiders allow Allen to have a day like that, their chances of winning would be slim to none.
Las Vegas has to keep Allen contained to have any chance of stopping the Bills from scoring a lot of points. This isn’t to say that Buffalo’s offense isn’t dangerous when Allen plays from the pocket, but defenses definitely don’t have a chance when the quarterback gets going on the ground and through the air.
The most athletic quarterback that the Raiders have faced this season was Miami Dolphins QB Malik Willis in Week 1. Las Vegas only allowed him to pick up 39 rushing yards on six carries. Since then, the Raiders have faced Justin Herbert (three rushes for two yards), Tyler Shough (one rush for 36 yards), Patrick Mahomes (two rushes for zero yards), and Drake Maye (seven rushes for 25 yards).
None of those quarterbacks have the combined rushing experience and prowess that Allen does, so Sunday will be a big test for Las Vegas.
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