Reactions to Raiders' loss vs. Broncos

Las Vegas dropped their seventh straight game on Sunday.
Denver Broncos v Las Vegas Raiders
Denver Broncos v Las Vegas Raiders / Ian Maule/GettyImages
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It may be a while until we see another Las Vegas Raiders win.

The team had the opportunity on Sunday to avenge an earlier season loss and get back in the win column against the same team that started their losing streak.

Denver did not bring their best stuff to Las Vegas either, but the Raiders still managed to lose by two scores at home once again.

Things are looking even more bleak for Antonio Pierce's team unless you are a fan who has embraced a top pick in next year's draft. In that case, Week 12 was quite kind to the Raiders, as they moved up two spots in the draft order and closed the gap in the strength of schedule tiebreaker.

Regardless, there is still a lot to unpack from this Sunday's defeat.

Raiders have been using the wrong running backs

Las Vegas was forced to employ a different set of running backs on Sunday as Zamir White and Alexander Mattison were sidelined with injuries.

While the results were not necessarily eye-popping, as the unit only mustered 61 yards on the ground, in terms of yards per carry, this was the team's best performance since Weeks 4 and 5.

Ameer Abdullah has been good for the Raiders in small bursts this season, but showed he was capable of shouldering a larger load on Sunday, even at the age of 31.

He ran the ball eight times for 28 yards, which is only 3.5 yards per carry, but he also contributed five catches for 37 yards and the team's lone touchdown of the day.

Sincere McCormick was also elevated from the practice squad and looked like the best true runner on the roster this season.

In his five carries, he totaled 33 yards to lead the team, which is an impressive 6.6 yards per carry. He ran for an 11-yard first down on his first NFL carry, and added a 19-yard jaunt too. This is longer than any play made by White this season.

Unfortunately, rookie Dylan Laube was the odd man out on Sunday. He did have an explosive kick return that set up a score for Las Vegas, but for now, his only offensive snap in the NFL remains the one in which he fumbled against the Steelers.

White and Mattison could come back from injury and find their roles reduced.