The Small, Significant Change That Sparked the Raiders Offense

The Las Vegas Raiders may have lost to the Miami Dolphins, but their offense undoubtedly looked better. An overlooked component helped the Raiders look like a competent offense last Sunday.

Nov 17, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Las Vegas Raiders running back Alexander Mattison (22) runs with the football against the Miami Dolphins during the third quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders’ offense has struggled to move the ball and score points over the last couple of seasons. The unit started this season with a new offensive coordinator and many new faces at multiple positions.

The team's moves to improve the offense during this past offseason did not work out as the Raiders had hoped. Las Vegas fired Luke Getsy at the start of the bye week, which allowed them time to name Scott Turner as their interim offensive coordinator.

In his first game calling the plays, the Raiders had receptions of 31 yards, 23 yards, and 22 yards. The significant gains energized the Raiders offense, but Turner noted that the chunk plays also energized the rest of the team.

"I mean, it does a lot,” Turner said. “I think, not the offense but the team too. You look at the sideline when you watch the film, and you see the guys react, and there's a lot of great people in this building, and obviously, we haven't won a lot recently, and guys are just ready, I think, to kind of take that next step. So when that happens, I kind of think it gets people excited. And then we had some great individual plays on those, too. And Miami, they're the type of team, they kind of put a tent on everything. They don't really let you get a lot. There's not a lot of explosive plays throughout the season. 

“So, we knew some of those were going to have to be catch and runs, and they were. But you see the guys, just like if you go back and watch Alexander's [Mattison] screen, freaking Jackson [Powers-Johnson] like flips over and does like a whirlybird, and guys are flying down the field. They're excited for each other, and we're just trying to build that attitude and culture, and I think you're seeing it come out, and we’ve just got to keep growing in that direction."

There is no way to get around the fact that the Raiders lost on Sunday. However, the offense looked undeniably better under Turner than at any point under Getsy.

With a week of calling the plays for the Raiders under his belt, it will be interesting to watch the offense potentially improve again under Turner. The fact that the offense is worth watching on Sunday is a positive step in the right direction.

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