Raiders offense: Sincere McCormick’s absence compounds group

Running back provided Las Vegas production its ground game sorely needed

As soon as the running back revelation arrived on the scene for the Silver & Black, it was gone in a blur, too.

Such is the case for Sincere McCormick and the Las Vegas Raiders.

After rushing for 175 yards on 32 carries Weeks 12 through 14, the 24-year-old undrafted free agent from USTA provided a much-needed jolt and production at the running back position the Raiders sorely needed. But, against the Atlanta Falcons this past Monday night, the 5-foot-9 and 205-pound tailback carried the rock seven times for a meager eight yards before suffering an ankle injury as he was gang tackled.

And like defensive end Maxx Crosby, McCormick landed on injured reserve Wednesday ending his 2024 campaign.

McCormick’s absence for the remaining three games of the 2024 slate compounds the Raiders offense that couldn’t get much going against the equally woeful Falcons. No wonder Las Vegas run game and trench work were deemed losers in Matt Holder’s prime time recap.

With McCormick on IR — along with Zamir White on injured reserve, too — Las Vegas depth at running back reads: Alexander Mattison, Ameer Abdullah, Dylan Laube, and newly promoted Chris Collier.

Mattison returned to action against Atlanta and it wasn’t pretty.

The veteran tailback fumbled and was dropped in the end zone for a safety — highlighting how the Raiders offensive line was owned by the Falcons defensive line. Abdullah remains a serviceable back who is a safety net receiver coming out of the backfield — his five-yard catch was Las Vegas’ lone touchdown against Atlanta. Laube is having his own fumbling issues to secure and Collier (signed to the Raiders practice squad mid-November) is more return man than tailback as an undrafted free agent from the Baltimore Ravens.

Raiders general manager Tom Telesco did ink running back Isaiah Spiller to the taxi squad. The 6-foot-1 and 215-pound 23-year-old was a Telesco fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Of that group, Mattison and Abdullah are likely going to be the lead backs going forward. Mattison has 341 yards on 104 carries with three touchdowns in the 11 games he’s played. Along with 27 receptions for 248 yards and a score out of the backfield. Abdullah has 159 yards on 39 carries and a touchdown on the ground and 32 catches for 182 yards and three touchdowns as a receiving option.

Abdullah, the oldest in the running back room at 31, is someone younger Raiders admire, for example.

“I think he’s in year 10 I want to say it is, but no, he came up to us a couple weeks ago in the team meeting on offense, whatever it was, and he just gave us a message of you never know when it’s going to be your last one. You can’t ever take anything for granted,” quarterback Desmond Ridder, who started against Atlanta, said of Abdullah. “And it was kind of, I’ll make him feel old for a little bit right here, he’s one of those old head moments right there of just don’t take anything for granted. And every time he steps on that field, he plays every play as if it’s his last, and you see that out there on Sunday, you see that out there throughout the week, the mental preparation, the physical preparation. He’s one of the best.”

If you’re of the notion the Raiders running back room is held together with bubble gum and a shoe lace, I don’t blame you. Like many other position groups on Las Vegas’ roster, the tailback position is bereft of talent and quality depth. And that’s a result of a myriad of things namely, coaching, injuries, and personnel decision maker.

We can’t ignore injuries decimating the Raiders roster along with quarterback Garnder Minshew being an ill fit for what former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy wanted to do. Las Vegas watched quarterback prospects fly off the board in the 2024 draft leaving hem with Minshew, Aidan O’Connell, and Gus Bradley as the signal callers heading into this year. Ridder was an in-season add but none of the aforementioned names inspires confidence.

Then there’s the circumstance of Scott Turner taking over the offensive playbook from Getsy and the results have been mixed. The nine-point output against the Falcons being the latest example for Las Vegas’ inadequate offense.

But as owner Mark Davis told The Athletic, there’s no excuse.

“I’m very disappointed, obviously. I want to see progress,” Davis said at the NFL league meetings before his team’s Monday Night Football matchup with Atlanta. “There’s no excuses. We have injuries and all of those things, but your team has to figure out how to get around those issues. The bottom line … is it comes down to me. And, if there’s going to be a finger pointed, it should be at me because, again, I’m the one who’s hiring the people who make the decisions on the field.

“There’s a misconception that I’m making a lot of decisions on the football field, but I continue to tell y’all that I don’t. I delegate to the people who I hire. I give them goals. And then I get out of the way and let them try to do it and let the results speak for themselves. At this point, obviously, we’re not happy, but you have to go through the season and then we’ll re-evaluate. Right now, I’m not in that position of evaluating anything going forward.”

As mentioned by Holder, if the Raiders trenchwork is impotent, then it won’t matter who is carrying the rock. We’ll get to see if Las Vegas is up to snuff in Week 16 as the 2-12 squad hosts the 3-11 Jacksonville Jaguars.

The cats from Florida boast the 32-ranked defense in terms of yards allowed 5,549. More specifically, Jacksonville comes in with the 24th overall ranked run defense allowing 1,848 yards and 22nd in rushing touchdowns allowed with 16. Flip the coin to Las Vegas and the team is ranked dead last in the NFL in rushing yards gained (1,093) and 29th in ground scores (eight).

It’s another something-has-to-give-type game and we’ll see if it’s the Raiders that continue to be broken (the team hasn’t won since September) or if it’s an opponent’s turn to be busted.

Quote of Note:

“Yeah, again, something I’ve said before, I think competing is – I’m more used to that than would just be if I was the unquestioned starter. And so, it’s really nothing new. It’s been that really every phase of my life I’ve been through it, and I think it’s just made me a better player in the end. And so, whatever challenge comes forward, I’m looking forward to it. And you don’t get to play the game for that long, so you might as well take any challenges you can head on and run with it.” —Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell when asked about how he takes hearing the team needs a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft