Raiders show big strides in key area against Dolphins
The Las Vegas Raiders won by two points on Saturday against the Miami Dolphins. While that isn't the biggest win, they did some positive things that stood out. But there was one item in particular that stood out during the Raiders' third preseason win of 2022. Raiders' offensive line looked good in the run game […]
The Las Vegas Raiders won by two points on Saturday against the Miami Dolphins. While that isn't the biggest win, they did some positive things that stood out.
But there was one item in particular that stood out during the Raiders' third preseason win of 2022.
Raiders' offensive line looked good in the run game
The Raiders offensive line hasn't looked good at all during the preseason, but it made some strides in the run game on Saturday night.
Now, the pass protection was still shaky, and I don't know when that will get fixed, or if it will. But I digress.
Seven different rushers combined for 144 rushing yards in the game, along with a 5.8 yards per carry average, which is obviously very good.
114 of the 144 yards came from Brittain Brown, who had 70 yards on nine carries, and quarterback Chase Garbers who had four carries for 44 yards.
Yes, Garbers did that because the offensive line wasn't great in pass pro, but that's a different story for another day.
While a lot of the credit will go to the running backs, and a lot of it should, the offensive line should get some love, as well. They were the ones opening up holes and creating space in the gaps for the backs to run.
I also loved that the Raiders were able to give other guys a chance in the backfield because of how well the offensive line was performing. Two receivers in D.J. Turner and Justin Hall also had some effective runs of their own.
Brown had a big game this week and was the feature back last week against the Vikings as well. In preseason Week 1, he finished with 54 yards on 14 carries, and he was able to up that a bit due to the offensive line playing a bit better in that area. Brown is showing he deserves some attention during the regular season.
The Raiders are getting better in this area. If they can improve on their blocking in the ground game, they certainly can improve their pass pro. But that obviously remains to be seen.
Now, it's all about stacking another solid performance on top of this one.
Featured Image Via Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports
