Just Stats Baby: Week 10 vs. the Colts

The Las Vegas Raiders are 2-7, and the season is over from a playoff perspective unless a miracle happens. The Raiders' disappointing season has the Nation looking for someone to be fired and pay the price for their performance.

Let us dive deep into the stats that are holding this team back.

The running game is struggling

Going into Week 8, the Raiders had the most dominant running game in football. There were number one in EPA and football outsiders' DVOA metric, and Josh Jacobs had three straight games with 140 yards and a touchdown. Week 8-10 has been different, with a rushing attack falling off a cliff.

Since Week 8, the Raiders are 31^st in EPA, and Jacobs does not have a 100-yard game. After having one game under five YPC in the first seven, he averaged 3.92 yards per carry in the last three. The offensive line hasn't opened up holes, and teams are playing more in the box after Jacobs faced light boxes early on.

Jacobs missed tackles forced has dropped as well. The passing game has to help open up the ground game for the Raiders. That isn't happening consistently, and teams are shutting down Jacobs, who was on a torrid pace.

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

The Raiders don't have a pass rush

When the Raiders signed Chandler Jones, there was an expectation for the pass rush to be essential for a playoff run. The combination of Jones and Maxx Crosby was supposed to become one of the best tandems in all football. That hasn't been the case so far in 2022.

The Colts gave up nine sacks the previous week to the Patriots. The defense for the Raiders followed that up with one sack and six pressures using PFF. Of course, Crosby led the way with two pressures with Kyle Peko, but six is unacceptable vs. a lousy offensive line.

With the secondary full of holes, the Raiders have to find a way to pressure the quarterback. Matt Ryan hasn't had that much time to throw the football in years. The Raiders allowed him to return to his old form without a pass rush.

Derek Carr is breaking football logic

Usually, with quarterbacks, they play better from a clean pocket. Historically passer rating for the average signal-caller is over 100 from a clean pocket and under 70 for pressure. Derek Carr is breaking the mold and has been the opposite throughout the 2022 season.

Vs. the Colts last Sunday, Carr finished with a passing rating of 158.3 under pressure. He was 7/8 with two touchdowns and 121 yards passing. The problem was from a clean pocket. His passer rating was 64.6, and he completed just 55.2 percent of his passes on the day. While there were two drops while clean, it was still an ugly performance when he should be comfortable.

It is a problem that defies football logic at the moment. He is currently 21^st in passer rating from a clean pocket using PFF and fifth under pressure. If Carr can pick it up from a clean pocket, he can turn his season around and score more points on offense.