Winning disguises a lot of issues, and losing exposes all of them. The Las Vegas Raiders, or at least a portion of the fanbase, were a bit blissfully unaware of the team's shortcomings amid their 3-0 start, but a three-game losing streak has put them under a microscope and begged for some real changes.
It is not close to panic time yet, as the Raiders have plenty of runway to figure things out. Klint Kubiak and his staff are already attempting to do so, as they have not been afraid to rock the boat and make adjustments in the early going. They've perfectly balanced competition with giving players chances.
And this was evident in Week 6 during Las Vegas' heartbreaking 33-30 loss against the Buffalo Bills. The snap counts from the game displayed four intriguing trends, from starters being replaced to rotations at certain spots to usage changing for several key players.
4 intriguing trends from Raiders' snap counts in Week 6 loss to Bills
Mike Washington Jr. continues to become more involved
Washington Jr. played both his highest number of snaps and the largest share to date in Week 6. For the second straight game, Ashton Jeanty played fewer than 40 offensive snaps and less than a 60% share. A few weeks ago, the tide was already turning, and it seems to be doing that even more lately.
While Jeanty was much more involved in the passing attack, he had only one more carry than Washington Jr. during Sunday's game. It shouldn't surprise anyone to see more of the same as the season progresses, especially if Jeanty is not operating at 100%.
Caleb Rogers is in, Jackson Powers-Johnson is out at RG
Kubiak teased all week that he was holding competitions at guard and at cornerback. Fans knew that this meant Powers-Johnson was in a battle with Rogers, and the latter must have been the winner in the lead-up to the Bills game, because he earned the start and played every offensive rep.
Now, Rogers fared just okay in the contest, as he committed a penalty, gave up a quarterback hit and a pressure, and the team ran just three times off him for 10 yards. But he also put a lot of good stuff on tape in the run and pass game. This competition may wear on, but Rogers is the immediate winner.
Raiders have a real rotation going at CB2
After going back and forth between Darien Porter and Zeke Masses in the first few weeks, the Raiders have rotated the two over the last two games. The former has outsnapped the latter 104-44, but still, both are getting legitimate playing time, and that's a good thing for the young duo.
Porter did give up one long completion, but he was solid otherwise, and Masses committed a penalty but was also pretty good, recording a nice quarterback hit on a blitz. If Las Vegas wants to keep rotating the two and playing them when most advantageous, then that is perfectly fine.
Las Vegas' relied on Brock Bowers heavily
Bowers obviously plays quite a bit and is the centerpiece of the passing attack every week. But after playing no more than 82.1 percent of the snaps in his first three games post-injury, Bowers was on the field for 65 out of 66 offensive snaps in Week 6, the second-highest share of his career.
Oddly enough, it was his least productive game yet, as he made just four catches for 70 yards. But the Bills' defensive game plan was centered around stopping him, and the Raiders scored 30 points, at least in part because the attention on Bowers allowed Michael Mayer and Tre Tucker to eat.
Add us as a preferred source on Google