Breakdown: Raiders present opportunity to jumpstart running game

The Raiders are 1-1 to start the 2023 season, which includes an surprise win in Denver over the Broncos in Week 1. While Steelers' offense is on life support, there's reason to believe this Raiders defense can be exploited.

There are a number of issues going on with the Steelers' offense. I've dove into the issue with Kenny Pickett and Matt Canada. I've watched the film on the offensive line. It's not good. Period. But, there is an opportunity to get their "mojo" back, as Mike Tomlin put it this week. And, it just so happens to coincide with what we thought would be this team's identity: Running the football.

Now, the Raiders aren't as bad as the Steelers have been at stopping the run through the first two games of the season. But, they still rank 27th in the NFL, allowing 138.5 yards per game on the ground. They're also in the same range by allowing 4.9 yards per carry thus far.

The Raiders weren't so bad against the Broncos, allowing only 94 yards rushing at a clip of 4.3 yards per carry. But, the Bills ran all over them in Week 2, totaling 183 yards rushing at a clip of 5.2 yards per carry.

Of course, upcoming opponents of the Raiders should go to the data and film to figure out how the Bills trampled the Raiders' defense. While the Bills were a good running team in 2022 (ranked seventh in the NFL), Josh Allen accounted for 34.1% percent of the Bills' rushing yards. And, Buffalo's running backs accounted for 176 of the 183 yards against the Raiders.

Teams like the Steelers, who don't rely on their quarterback for rushing production, should be looking to pounce on what the Bills revealed about the Raiders' defense.

One specific area that sticks out is how much the Bills deployed gap concepts in the running game. Buffalo is predominantly a gap team, but not by an overly large margin. Last year, the Bills ran gap concepts 60% of the time. Against the Raiders in Week 2, 23 of the 30 carries by Bills' running backs were behind gap concepts. And, the Bills gained 152 yards on those 23 carries. That's an average of 6.6 yards per carry.

This is a nice counter run by the Bills using 12 personnel. It's not anything overly complicated. It's a gap concept, so the the guards are both responsible to block down on the defensive tackles. The weak side tight end should block down on the edge, and the left tackle should do the same with the edge defender on his side. That leaves only the center to block up to the second level up, and the right tackle's assignment is to pull and block any other free defenders in the running back's path. The Bills execute this to perfection for a 9-yard gain.

This play came with the game already out of hand, so take that for what it's worth. However, the Raiders are still lined up with five men up front with the Bills in 12 personnel. This isn't an overly complicated gap concept. Everybody on the line picks up a man and blocks them down. The left guard does a great job of doubling the 3-technique, then pealing off to pick up the blitzing linebacker. James Cook also deserves a lot of credit for bouncing back through the C gap, breaking a tackle and ripping off a 36-yard gain. However, the Bills' offensive line has little issue with the Raiders' front seven.

Now, here's where the Steelers have a decision to make. Canada's offense predominantly uses zone running concepts, especially outside zone. Last year, Najee Harris logged significantly more carries in zone concepts. In fact, he only logged more carries in gap concepts in a game just one time. The splits with Jaylen Warren were similar, as he logged 48 carries in zone concepts to only 19 carries in gap.

Should the Steelers lean more with gap concepts in a matchup like this? It certainly looks as if they would gain some sort of advantage, not only based on what the Bills did to this defense, but also because gap concepts aren't nearly as complicated as zone concepts. And, for an offensive line that has struggled mightily throughout the first two games, maybe simplifying things is a great way to gain some confidence.

It's also worth noting the Raiders deploy their base defense (four defensive backs) only 15.8% of the time. Only five teams in the NFL use their base defense less often. The Raiders have a good nickelback in Nate Hobbs, and Tomlin gave him a lot of praise in his weekly press conference this past Tuesday. But, deploying gap concepts such as duo -- a popular one amongst offensive linemen -- might be a good way for the Steelers to impose their will on a smaller front.

One way or another, the Steelers need to improve at running the football. Sticking with zone concepts this week doesn't mean the Steelers can't run the ball. This Raiders team is susceptible to being beaten on the ground, regardless of what concepts are called. But, the Bills might have done the Steelers a favor in showing them a way to help get that mojo back.