Raiders' Antonio Pierce isn't losing hope on one of the biggest things that can save what's left of the season

The Las Vegas Raiders have one of the worst offenses in the entire NFL, and that's not a secret. That is largely because of a few different issues they have, starting with injuries to key players, and making its way all the way down to bad offensive line play, bad quarterback play, turnover issues, and of course, the worst run game in the entire league.

When Antonio Pierce took over as not only the interim head coach but the actual head coach, he said he wanted the identity of the team to be one that is physical in the trenches and runs the ball as good as anyone. Only one-third of that has really happened, and that's the defensive side of the trenches, and even then, the run game on the defensive line hasn't been great.

But as far as the run game on the offensive side of the ball, the Raiders are far off. They are last in the league in a ton of categories, but even then, Antonio Pierce isn't giving up, maybe because that seems to be the one realistic thing that can save what's left of this season.

 "Got to stay consistent, details. I mean, we're not doing a lot in the running game," Pierce said on Friday. "At the end of the day, you got to block the guy in front of you, you got to hit the hole, you got to run through contact. Sometimes you have to make a guy miss, right? 

"So, a lot goes into it. I think more than anything else, just like anything else, you go to a basketball court, and you start taking shots. You don't make every shot. You just got to keep shooting your shot, and we need to keep taking our shots." 

Alexander Mattison, who has been a bright spot for the Raiders, one of the few there are, is 44th in the league in RYOE, or Rush Yards Over Expected Per Carry with -0.4, and Zamir White is 49th, with -0.7, per NGS. That means they aren't even among the best 32 running backs for starters and have been worse than some backups on a handful of teams. 

It feels like a lot of times they are getting hit before they even get to the line of scrimmage, but they also aren't making something out of anything as often as they maybe should. And, it's a group effort in the run game, and neither is going well for the Raiders. What is working is Mattison, occasionally, but because only certain things work with him, defensive adjustments quickly shut it down.

I appreciate Pierce not giving up hope, but as things currently stand, it doesn't feel like anything will be changed or improved anytime soon. The Cincinnati Bengals, the Raiders' next opponent, is actually good at stopping the run. Just ask Derrick Henry and the Baltimore Ravens.

The rest of the Raiders' schedule isn't shaping up to help them if they want to get their season back on track. It may be too late, as they still play the Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and others.