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Raiders’ Snap Count Observations: Raiders Don’t Know Who Should be Playing on Defense
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- Raiders’ Snap Count Observations: Raiders Don’t Know Who Should be Playing on Defense
The Raiders are in free fall, after suffering a fourth straight defeat. The Rams came to Las Vegas and embarrassed the Raiders' defense putting up 35 points.
Las Vegas has allowed at least 30 points in four straight games, completely falling off after a 3-0 start that had the defense looking good. But the holes on the roster are starting to show.
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The defensive snap counts illustrate the confusion among the Raiders' coaching staff as to who they should have on the field.
At cornerback, Darien Porter and Hezekiah Masses rotated as the second cornerback. Yet again, neither one was any good.
Porter played 43 snaps to Masses' 29. Both players were targeted three times in the passing game. Porter allowed three catches for 24 yards, while Masses allowed two receptions for 20 yards and a touchdown. Neither player was credited with a pass breakup.
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Las Vegas has flipped from Porter to Masses and back to Porter as a starter at cornerback. Outside of Masses' fluke two-game stretch where he intercepted three passes, neither has shown to be a starting-level corner. Leaving the Raiders without a good secondary.
The other defensive position that the Raiders regularly rotate is at defensive tackle. Tonka Hemingway has been one of the best interior defensive linemen on the team, but he only played 21 snaps in his return from injury.
Adam Butler played the most snaps at 51, while Foley Fatukasi played 34 and Tim Keenan and J.J. Pegues played 19 and 16, respectively.
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That rotation didn't lead to good results. Butler failed to record a single run stop and had just one pressure in his 51 snaps. Fatukasi didn't have a run stop or a pressure. Meanwhile, Hemingway picked up two pressures and a run stop in his limited snaps.
The Raiders have a flawed roster, especially on defense. The best players, like Maxx Crosby and Nakobe Dean, aren't making enough big plays to cover up the holes across the defense. The coaching staff is having a hard time identifying if any players are actually worth playing at a few positions.
It is not a good recipe for success, as evidenced by the four-game losing streak.
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This story was originally published by Athlon on Oct 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
