Raiders' Running Game Has Hit a Wall

What do you say after your team just got hammered 34-14? How do you explain away the end of a three-game winning streak to a team that lost its first seven games this season? After the Raiders lost to host Miami Sunday, Raiders players told reporters they felt as flat as they looked on the field. Defensive tackle Richard Seymour told the San Francisco Chronicle’s Vittorio Tafur, “We didn’t play with much juice or energy.” Added defensive tackle John Henderson: “We came out flat. Just flat.” By losing Sunday, the Raiders lost their one-game lead over the Denver Broncos in the AFC West. Now, both teams are 7-5, with four games remaining. Raiders head coach Hue Jackson told Tafur, “I didn’t prepare this team as well as I can,” and summed up their performance succinctly: “We couldn’t run. We couldn’t stop the run. We didn’t pass very well.” The Raiders’ failure to establish a running game against t...