How the Raiders Compensate for Monumental Loss

The Las Vegas Raiders suffered a critical loss last Sunday against the Chicago Bears.

The Raiders' Huge Loss

The Raiders' offensive line struggled for most of the first four games of the season, as starting offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson missed two games. Las Vegas' offensive line appeared to figure things out in Week 4, against one of the worst rush defenses in the league.

However, it came at an extremely high cost, as the Raiders not only lost the game, but lost starting left tackle, Kolton Miller. The Raiders' standout tackle is one of the top 10-15 offensive tackles in the league and was having a productive season. He is undoubtedly the Raiders' best offensive lineman.

Earlier this week, Raiders Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly explained how the loss of Miller impacts him as the playcaller and how it impacts the team itself. Still, Kelly is confident in Miller's replacement, Stone Forsythe.

"Yeah, I mean, Kolton [Miller] was having a tremendous year. I think you look at some of the metrics and he was top one, two or three tackle in the league in terms of his production and what he had done so far. So anytime you lose a frontline starter, no matter who it is, not having Mike [Michael Mayer] last week at tight end changes what you do. But losing Kolton, we feel really confident in Stone [Forsythe],” Kelly said.

“I think he's had a good week of training. We still have, obviously, today and tomorrow morning to go, but you have got to make some adjustments when you lose a guy of that nature. Everybody's got to kind of pull their weight a little bit and help Stone out a little bit."

"And make sure we're aware because they do have two really good edge rushers, Laiatu [Latu] and Kwity Paye. And so, those guys had our attention before the game and before Kolton was out. So, they're going to have our attention even more now that Kolton is out of there."

Raiders Head Coach briefly expressed confidence in Stone, as the two have history together dating back to their days with the Seattle Seahawks.

September 18, 2022; Santa Clara, California, USA; Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle Stone Forsythe (78) after the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

"It's kind of been real quiet. Nothing's happened over there when we've tested him and tried him out in all situations. So, he's played like a vet, went right over there and took over. And so, we have nothing but good expectations right at this point," Carroll said.

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