Raiders offense: Sincere McCormick giving run game what it’s missing

Running back’s vision and balance allowing Las Vegas to effectively utilize play action

Sincere McCormick embodies the phrase “patience is a virtue.”

The running back joined the Las Vegas Raiders as an undrafted free agent back in May of 2022 after an electrifying collegiate career at the University of Texas at San Antonio (USTA) but suffered a torn ACL and LCL in his knee before rookie camp began, wiping out his initial season in the pros.

Yet, at just 21 years old, time was on McCormick’s side. But as with NFL circumstance, when McCormick was healthy, he found himself in a very crowded running back room that featured workhorse Josh Jacobs, rookie Zamir White, and veterans Brandon Bolden and Ameer Abdullah.

This resulted in practice squad stints for McCormick and he started the 2024 campaign again, a taxi squad member. But the now 24-year-old didn’t let that dissuade him and he kept on the grind before injuries decimated the room and he got his opportunity to finally carry the rock in Silver & Black.

And now — if McCormick continues to shine — there may be no looking back.

With a low center of gravity that gives him balance along, the 5-foot-9 and 205-pound is the sparkplug the Raiders run game and offense needed. Despite being short, McCormick is stout with surprising power. That patience he exhibited throughout his career thus far is also present when he’s given the ball as he waits for blocks to develop instead of galloping forward like a race horse (a reference to White’s running style).

McCormick briefly showcased his ability and running style in Week 12 against the Denver Broncos as he tallied 33 yards on five carries. And in his most substantial action of the year, he churned out 64 yards on 12 carries last week in the 19-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. It was that game where you saw McCormick’s patience, decisiveness, one cut-and-go style.

“What you’re seeing on gamedays, on Sundays and Friday from last week is what we saw every day in practice — a guy that ran hard, runs tough, good vision, decisive, hits the hole,” Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce said of McCormick during the media availability on Wednesday. “First guy is not tackling him right now, and that’s been a big key for us in the run game, not getting tackled by that first defender. So, he’s making the most of his opportunity. He’ll keep getting opportunities. I said that last week. I think it was 12 carries he got, and hopefully we can just bump that up a little bit more this week.”

While the sample size remains miniscule — 17 carries for 97 yards (5.7 yards per carry average) — McCormick is giving Las Vegas the juice and pop USTA fans became accustomed to during his three-year stint in Conference USA where he galloped for 3,929 yards and 34 touchdowns on 724 carriers total. So much so, McCormick is likely to not yo-yo from practice squad to active roster any longer as the Raiders made him a regular after placing wide receiver and special teams dynamo DJ Turner on injured reserve.

Having a productive running back that can gain consistent yards is a major component of the Raiders having the worst-ranked rushing of all 32 teams in terms of yards (937) and average per carry (3.7) along with being 31st in attempts (256). All of which makes McCormick’s production look like a windfall in comparison.

But a byproduct of having a balanced, decisive yet decisive, and productive back in the backfield is interim offensive coordinator Scott Turner can dial up play action and this time around, defenders are biting on the run fake instead of scoffing at the notion.

That proves invaluable for quarterback Aidan O’Connell as he hooked up with rookie tight end Brock Bowers and speedy wide receiver Tre Tucker on 33-yard and 58-yard touchdowns, respectively. Both plays were play action with deep throws resulting in explosive (20 yards or more) scores.

Las Vegas was able to do this against an aggressive and normally stout Steve Spagnuolo-led Kansas City defense, which impressed Pierce.

“No, pretty impressive. I mean, that whole week was impressive by our guys, right? Coming off a tough loss, obviously, to Denver and now you got divisional foe going in there and you’re playing, and you’re like, ‘Okay, short week on the road, your 14-point underdogs.’ And then you got a quarterback that’s coming off the bench, and credit to Aidan (O’Connell) because the game last year we had, we didn’t complete a pass after the first quarter,” Pierce noted. “And here he was wheeling and dealing all the way until the last two minutes of the ball game. So, credit to those guys being prepared and really not flinching because Spags and that defense was bringing pressure the entire time. I thought he got the ball out of his hand quick, was decisive, and made some big plays for us.”

A cynic will look at McCormick’s two-game production and note that the small sample size merits little. Which is actually a proper mindset. We’ll need to see if the tailback continues to be a productive member of Las Vegas’ backfield in the final five games of the season — the first of which is against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that showcases a run defense that’s No. 12 in yards allowed (1,406).

Consistency has been absent in the Raiders running back room. And now’s the chance for McCormick to change that narrative.

“He’s really done a nice job of, I talked about the quarterback, like the quarterbacks, obviously the key decision maker everyone talks about, but like the running back is also a decision maker, because he decides where we’re going to run the ball,” Turner said of McCormick. “Obviously we have a plan, but they’ve got to use their vision, and he’s done a really nice job. Ameer as well ran the ball very well. But Sincere has been decisive, he’s gotten the ball where it’s supposed to be for the most part, and then he’s done a really good job of not letting that first guy tackle him. And that might only be a five-yard gain, but if that first guy hit you at two and we get five, now it’s second and five, and that makes a big difference for the whole offense. And he’s done a nice job of getting those 11-yard gains him and Ameer both, where it’s like now you’re getting a first down and getting to first and 10 is huge.”