Oct 6, 2026 · 1h 33m
Raiders confront a run game their pass protection can’t hide
Fixing the Raiders Run Game
The Raiders’ offensive identity and prospects against New England hinge on whether coaching, blocking and execution can produce consistent rushing lanes.
- 1Sam Warren’s film analysis finds a stark split between the Raiders’ effective pass protection and ineffective run blocking.
- 2JT and Warren identify play action, motion and Kirk Cousins’ target selection as possible answers against the Patriots.
- 3The expanded College Football Playoff has changed regular-season stakes, favoring deep SEC and Big Ten contenders.
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Sam Warren contrasts the Raiders’ strong pass-blocking results with their poor run-blocking production, turning a broad concern into a film-based diagnosis.
The brief
The Raiders’ rushing attack is the central problem: strong pass protection has not translated into push, leaving coaching, guard play and depth under scrutiny.
Sam Warren brings film-based detail to the diagnosis, while JT and a caller consider motion, wider formations and practice repetitions as ways to create lanes.
Against New England, the proposed offensive answer is play action and Kirk Cousins finding open targets; defensively, pressure on Drake Maye becomes the counterweight.
The show broadens into Lane Johnson’s legacy, NFL team storylines and a college-football debate over how the expanded playoff reduces regular-season urgency.
The episode’s clearest tension is whether the Raiders can turn resilience and sound pass blocking into a functional run game before those strengths stop mattering.