LAS VEGAS — The Las Vegas Raiders can’t say they didn’t know. They entered the offseason fully aware that their offensive line needed significant improvement. Las Vegas struggled to protect the quarterback last season, couldn’t consistently create running lanes and entered 2026 with questions throughout the unit.
The Raiders addressed some of those concerns. They made a major investment in Tyler Linderbaum, making him the highest-paid center in football. They added former San Francisco 49ers guard Spencer Burford and drafted Trey Zuhn.
But five games into the season, one thing is becoming increasingly obvious: They didn’t do enough. Sunday’s 45-17 loss to the New England Patriots provided the latest evidence.
Patriots Exposed the Problem
New England pressured Kirk Cousins on 12 of his 31 dropbacks, a 39 percent pressure rate, according to ESPN’s Ryan McFadden. It was the second-highest pressure rate Cousins has faced this season.
Even more alarming was what happened when New England generated pressure. Cousins completed only two passes under pressure and was sacked four times.
“They did a nice job with their pressures and getting home quickly,” Cousins said after the game. That’s certainly true. But this wasn’t Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen escaping pressure and turning broken plays into something spectacular.
Cousins isn’t that quarterback. At this stage of his career, he needs a relatively clean pocket to operate at his best. When protection breaks down immediately, the limitations of the Raiders offense become much more obvious. That makes building a quality offensive line around him even more important.
The offensive line’s inability to consistently run block has already been one of the biggest disappointments of the Raiders’ season. Ashton Jeanty was supposed to provide Las Vegas with a physical running game capable of taking pressure off Cousins.
Instead, the Raiders have struggled to consistently get Jeanty going. Initially, there was at least some optimism because the pass protection appeared to be holding up better.
Now that’s slipping, too. That’s when an offensive-line problem becomes an offensive problem. If Las Vegas can’t consistently run the football and can’t protect Cousins, what exactly is the identity of Klint Kubiak’s offense? That’s the question the Raiders have to answer.
Three Takeaways From the Raiders’ 45-17 Loss to the Patriots
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Robert LaMar is a Deputy Editor for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X via @RobertLaMar26
