As we’ve been doing for several years now, we’ll break down the Pittsburgh Steelers’ opponent each week, telling you what to expect from a scheme and individual standpoint. Like last year, Josh Carney and I will cover the opposing team’s defense. I will focus on the scheme, Josh on the players.
Today, the Las Vegas Raiders’ offense.
ALEX’S SCHEME REPORT
Raiders Run Game
The Raiders’ offense is experiencing similar struggles to Pittsburgh, scoring 17 and 10 points in Las Vegas’ first two games. Their goal is to run the ball with stud RB Josh Jacobs. But he’s been completely bottled up. Jacobs has 28 carries this season, averaging a nearly unbelievable 1.6 yards per carry with a “long” of seven yards. He’s certainly gotten a lot of work. His 18 first-down carries are tied for 11th-most in the league, and the Raiders want to feed him the ball. Backup RB Zamir White has only five carries, the only other running back with a rushing attempt two games into the season.
Wide receiver Tre Tucker had a jet run last week for 34 yards on the left side, a first-and-10 run at midfield on the Raiders’ first possession. Part of their scripted 15. It’s the only run they have so far of 10 or more yards, the only team with just one of them this season. Even Pittsburgh has three. Tucker is used on plenty of jet motion and has 4.4 speed.
They’re an old-school offense that heavily uses a fullback in a true lead block role as opposed to an H-back/multi-facet purpose. That’s No. 45 Jakob Johnson. He logged 27 snaps in Week One and eight last week against the Buffalo Bills, though the latter usage was mostly due to them being blown out and playing from behind against the Bills. Ideally, they want to align in two-back and pound the rock between the tackles. They also like to use a sixth offensive lineman in No. 77 Larry Warford, a big-bodied guard. Some clips of them running out of this extra heavy package.
Some other offensive stats. Sample sizes are small, but the Raiders are 50 percent in the red zone but have done well on third down at 44 percent (8 of 18). The offense has struggled but they’ve gotten off to decent starts with touchdowns in the first quarter of both their games. Following the first 15 minutes, they led Denver 7-6 after Week One and were tied with Buffalo 7-7. They’ve struggled from there, scoring just 13 total points over the remaining quarters. They have just seven second half points.
Raiders Passing Game
Led by QB Jimmy Garoppolo, whose last name I have finally learned how to (kind of) spell. He comes over from San Francisco and replaces Derek Carr. He’s been efficient with a 72 percent completion rating, fourth-best in the NFL. It’s not all been checkdowns either with a 7.7 yards per attempt (tied-5th) and 6.2 adjusted net yards per passing attempt (13th). He has, however, thrown as many interceptions as touchdowns, three each.
Davante Adams remains the Raiders’ top weapon in the passing game and should play Sunday night despite entering concussion protocol after the Bills game, following a hard shot late. Adams has 12 receptions on 17 targets. Jakobi Meyers didn’t play in Week Two due to a concussion but had a big opener, grabbing nine passes on 10 targets for 81 yards and two touchdowns. And…that’s their passing game. Aside from Josh Jacobs touchdowns, no one else has gotten involved. Adams and Meyers are the only two wide receivers to catch more than one pass this season. Hunter Renfrow curiously only has one grab and played just 39 snaps through two weeks. Don’t know what’s going on there for a guy making a bunch of money. He might get traded.
So far, the tight ends haven’t been involved the way TE Darren Waller, now a New York Giant, was. Austin Hooper has three catches while rookie Michael Mayer has one. The heavy use of the sixth offensive lineman has taken away some of those tight end snaps.
Conceptually, the Raiders use a lot of reduced splits and work out of 2×2 quite a bit. They will move Adams around to try to free him and they’ll change his alignment, too. In these three clips, watch him iso on the backside with a reduced split in the red zone as the primary read, watch him on the slot fade, and watch him run the out from another reduced split with the Raiders backed up in their end zone.
One trend the Raiders love is vertical divide routes. Serves two purposes. Puts safeties in conflict downfield and helps create checkdowns underneath by expanding the defense vertically. There are some shots in the middle of the field that have been open and missed. Watch Renfrow and Adams here. Really surprised Garoppolo didn’t hit either of these.
Might be hard to play two-high but if it’s Cover 3, the safety could be squeezed. Maybe see some more Cover 4 in this one. Will still help bring the safeties down to stop the run.
Josh’s Individual Report
It’s Raiders week, Steelers fans!
After a big win over the AFC North rival Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football in Week Two, the Steelers hit the road for another primetime matchup, this time against the Raiders on Sunday Night Football.
Pittsburgh and Las Vegas squared off in Week 16 of the 2022 season on Christmas Eve at Acrisure Stadium, but now in Week Three of the 2023 season the Raiders look a bit different offensively, led by veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
Garoppolo came over to the Raiders in free agency, reuniting with Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels harkening back to their days together in New England.
Through two games, Garoppolo has yet to be sacked as the Raiders have done a great job keeping him upright, allowing the offense to somewhat function, though they’re only scored 17 and 10 points in the first two weeks of the season.
Garoppolo is a good piece for McDaniels’ offense, which is the quick-hitting kind with a lot of in-breaking routes. The veteran quarterback has good accuracy overall and puts the ball wherever he wants on a given route.
He doesn’t have great arm strength but his timing in the offense is strong, which allows him to throw in rhythm consistently.
Las Vegas has some intriguing weapons around Garoppolo too.
The Raiders run — literally — through star running back Josh Jacobs, who returned before the start of the regular season after holding out all summer in a contract dispute.
Jacobs is a great combination of speed and power, and he has very impressive, high-end contact balance that allows him to stay on his feet consistently, bounce off would-be tacklers and pick up additional yardage. You cannot just thud this guy and expect him to go down. It’s going to be a long day against him.
He has a good feel for setting up blockers as well and his vision continues to get better and better. He led the league in rushing a year ago for a reason and gave the Steelers fits in that Christmas Eve matchup. Through two weeks Pittsburgh has struggled to stop the run, so expect the Raiders to have a heavy dosage of Jacobs for Pittsburgh to deal with.
Behind Jacobs, the Raiders have veteran Ameer Abdullah, who is a solid change-of-pace running back, as is young running back Zamir White, who is the true No. 2 behind Jacobs. Las Vegas doesn’t actively try and take Jacobs off the field though, so White and Abdullah might not see more than a handful of snaps on the night.
While Jacobs is a star and the focal point of the offense, Las Vegas is in great shape at the receiver position too. Davante Adams returns for another season in Las Vegas, this time with a new quarterback.
So far, he’s been the top target for the Raiders with 12 catches and a touchdown in two games. He’s still arguably the best route runner in football and is dynamic after the catch thanks to his vision and pace with which he plays with.
Adams had just two catches for 15 yards last season against Pittsburgh, but it was frigid conditions in which he played in. This time, he’ll be in his home dome on a fast track.
The Steelers have had issues in coverage the last two weeks against elite route runners in Brandon Aiyuk and Amari Cooper. Adams is even better than those guys.
Free agent addition Jakobi Meyers started fast with the Raiders, catching two touchdown passes in the win over the Denver Broncos to open the season, but he was concussed late in that game on a questionable hit and missed Week Two against Buffalo. He’s tracking to play in Week Three, which will be an added worry for the Steelers.
Quietly, Meyers is a strong route runner and can work himself open enough, but he doesn’t create much separation, sitting at just 2.3 yards of separation generated on the year. Physical, solid contested-catch guy though, a real possession-style receiver who moves the chains consistently.
Slot receiver Hunter Renfrow has been very quiet this season, but it’s well known just how dynamic he is as a route runner. He’s still trying to develop some rapport with Garoppolo at this point, but once that clicks, look out.
Rookie Tre Tucker brings serious home run speed to the Raiders. He ripped off a 34-yard jet sweep against the Bills in Week Two, setting up an Adams touchdown on the first drive of the game. He doesn’t have a target on the year yet, so he’s not much of a receiving threat, but his speed to turn the corner as a runner is dangerous.
Las Vegas did a nice job rebuilding its tight end room this offseason, drafting Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer in the second round and signing veteran Austin Hooper in free agency.
Mayer is the new-age tight end in today’s NFL. He’s a good blocker in-line and is quite the athlete overall, one who can move all over the formation as a receiving option. He was the top tight end in the 2023 NFL Draft coming out of Notre Dame and reminds some of a young Rob Gronkowski. Makes sense why McDaniels and the Raiders targeted him.
Hooper is that steady, dependable veteran receiving option at the position. Good hands, won’t make much happen after the catch, but a chain mover who is a security blanket.
In the trenches, Las Vegas has gotten off to a strong start on the year. The Raiders offensive line has not allowed a single sack through two games against the Broncos and Bills, both of whom have very good pass rushers.
Here’s how I expect the Raiders to line up left to right on Sunday night:
LT — Kolton Miller
LG —Dylan Parham
C — Andre James
RG — Greg Van Roten
RT — Jermaine Eluemunor
It’s not the best-looking line on paper, but it’s a solid one. Miller has come into his own as a high-end left tackle. Great athlete at the position who is putting it all together and has solidified the position for years to come for the Raiders.
James is quietly an impressive center. He’s a mauler in the run game and agile in pass protection. Brings a real edge to the group, as do Van Roten and Eluemunor. The latter will have a tough test on Sunday night against T.J. Watt, but he’s performed well so far at right tackle.
Van Roten has been a good addition to the run game, coming over from Carolina in free agency and grabbing hold of the right guard spot. Parham had a nightmare of a game against the Steelers last season as Cameron Heyward abused him. He gets a slight reprieve this time around with Heyward out.
On specials the Raiders remain solid. Kicker Daniel Carlson has a massive leg and can hit from 59 yards and in with serious consistency. Just how steady is he? Carlson is 109 for his last 117 field goal attempts. Just eight misses in four years. Remarkable.
At punter, AJ Cole is a Pro Bowl and All-Pro talent with a big leg. He does a good job of directional kicking as well as getting air under his punts to help limit returns. Through two games, Cole is averaging 49.5 yards per punt after averaging 43.9 last season on 59 punts.
DeAndre Carter is the return man for the Raiders. He has one kickoff return for a touchdown in his career, which came in 2021 with Washington. Last season with the Los Angeles Chargers, Carter averaged 19.1 yards per kick return and 11.7 yards per punt return.
Through two games with the Raiders, Carter has one kick return for 23 yards. He has great speed though and can really bust open a game when he sees a crease.
