The Raiders had their worst offensive outing of the season in Week 8 as they failed to score a single point against the Saints. Worse yet, the starting offense never crossed the 50-yard line at any point in the game.
How much was that due to the offensive line? Quite a bit. Andre James really struggled and no one else really played well. However, you should still be encouraged about this unit compared to where they were at in the preseason.
In a recent article by Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus, he ranked all of the offensive lines in the NFL after Week 8. The Raiders came in at No. 18, which is significantly higher than they were to start the year. Here is what he had to say about the unit after the Saints game:
“Andre James had a rough game against the Saints last week, surrendering three pressures, one of which was a sack. The line is significantly improved over its preseason status, jumping up 11 spots so far from the first offensive line rankings of the year.”
The Raiders need to get better play from the guard spots as both Dylan Parham and Alex Bars struggled. But if the tackles can continue to hold up, there is some hope that this unit can be near the league average by the end of the year.
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