Kubiak puts the NFL's worst rushing attack on himself as Raiders turn to Patriots

Klint Kubiak spent Monday doing something Raiders head coaches have not often bothered with. He took the blame himself.

"I put it on myself. I got to do a lot better job of putting us in better position," Kubiak said of a running game that is the worst in the league, per ProFootballTalk. He then absolved the personnel: "We've got solid backs, we've got a solid offensive line."

The ledger backs the first half of that and argues with the second. Las Vegas averages 3.13 yards a carry, dead last in the NFL, and 93 rushing yards a game, the Associated Press reported. The backs are getting 1.8 yards before contact, second-worst in the league. That is a blocking number as much as a scheme number, and it is the same complaint that trailed this offense through 2025, when the Raiders finished last at 3.57 a carry.

Sunday was the low point. Kansas City stuffed 10 of the Raiders' 26 carries, a 38.5 percent rate the team's own accounting calls its highest since 2018. Ashton Jeanty still has no rushing touchdown this season. After 102 yards on 23 carries in the Week 1 win over Miami, he has 162 across the three games since.

Opinion, and label it that: the 3-1 record is covering for this. Kirk Cousins threw for 365 yards on 52 attempts against the Chiefs and has 11 touchdown passes, tied for the league lead. An offense that cannot gain two yards on the ground is one hamstring away from a one-line business, and the receiver room is already thin. Jalen Nailor is dealing with a concussion and Jack Bech is out with a fractured forearm, which is why Kubiak met a question about adding a receiver with "All things are being considered," as A to Z Sports' Justin Churchill reported.

Help may be coming inside. The AP also reported that Jackson Powers-Johnson, who sat out the Chiefs game with a groin injury, returns to practice this week.

Sunday brings a trip to New England, where the Patriots beat Buffalo 29-26 on a late Drake Maye touchdown and held Dalton Kincaid to one catch for seven yards. If that zone coverage travels, Brock Bowers will not rescue the afternoon by himself and the run game will have to be real. Watch Powers-Johnson's practice reports and whether a new receiver turns up on the roster before kickoff.