Raiders Report: What Drove Las Vegas' Week 1 Offensive Success

The Las Vegas Raiders are a work in progress, but they've already made a lot of progress.

Below are a few of the things that fueled Las Vegas' offense in Week 1 and what the unit will need more of in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Offensive Line

The Raiders' offensive line was one of the worst in the league last season. In Week 1, their offseason additions of Tyler Linderbaum and Spencer Burford paid immediate dividends, according to head coach Klint Kubiak.

“He's [Tyler Linderbaum's] a really good athlete. He's a premier athlete at his position, and then to play center, you got to be smartest guy on the field. So, he gets everybody on the same page. He plays with great effort, plays with great athleticism, and he's played one game. He's got to play a whole season, so still expecting more out of him,” Kubiak said earlier this week.

Special Teams

Against the Dolphins, Las Vegas' special teams unit helped in a major way. The Raiders' kickoff return team registered almost 100 return yards. Las Vegas also averaged nearly 20 yards per punt return against Miami. The unit undoubtedly left its mark against the Dolphins.

Raiders special teams coach Joe DeCamillis recently shared his thoughts on his kickoff returner, Dylan Laube, and punt returner, Malik Benson. Yet, despite the pair's success against Miami, DeCamillis noted that things could change depending on the opponent.

"I thought he did an excellent job for us. He'll be a captain for us this week. Did a great job in the return game, but also very, very productive in the coverage game too. So, did an excellent job,” DeCamillis said before practice on Friday.

"You want to have guys that are going to make great decisions. I thought Malik [Benson] did a good job right there, but then we used Dylan [Laube] back there really on kind of a defense stay situation. But that may not be the case every single week."

Meaningful Runs

The Raiders not only ran the ball, but they ran it effectively. More importantly, what Las Vegas' coaching staff considered effective was not always measured by how long the runs were. Sure, the more rushing yards, the better. However, the Raiders' ground game did more than rack up yards.

Las Vegas' ground game did just what was needed, registering over 100 total yards in Week 1. Still, just as critical as the yards they gained on the field was the time they took off the clock. The Raiders have rarely found themselves in that position in recent seasons.

As Las Vegas moves into Week 2 and beyond, they will do all they can to continue controlling the game. Raiders offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko explained the approach he and the coaching staff took once it became clear how effective the ground game was becoming against Miami.

“That's one of the things that we always talk about is being able to maximize our possessions, maximize the time that we have the ball in our hands. I thought our coaches did a great job with the planning purposes, executing the planning, having our guys on point, letting our guys execute so that we were able to stay on the field,” Janocko said before practice on Wednesday.

What's Next for the Raiders' Offense?

Overall, the Raiders' next step on offense is to build on their Week 1 success. This will require them to execute several things they did not have to against the Dolphins. The Chargers are a formidable opponent, regardless of their Week 1 loss. They will be determined to beat the Raiders.

Specifically, Los Angeles will do its best to take away what Las Vegas' offense hangs its hat on. Although what the Raiders want to do and how they want to go about doing it remains unclear entering the second week of the season, some of the unit's foundation is already clear.

The Chargers will look to stop Ashton Jeanty. They will pressure Kirk Cousins to see how effective he is under duress. Los Angeles will likely also look to eliminate tight end Michael Mayer if Brock Bowers is out, forcing Las Vegas to improve their passing game, especially downfield.

The Raiders' group of wide receivers will be tested this Sunday as well. The next step for Las Vegas' offense is proving it can be productive, score points, and win games when things do not go as planned, as much of their Week 1 outing against the Dolphins did.

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