{"id":980403,"date":"2026-08-22T20:27:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T20:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/980403\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T20:27:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T20:27:15","slug":"raiders-penalties-tackling-woes-remain-prime-areas-of-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/980403\/","title":{"rendered":"Raiders\u2019 penalties, tackling woes remain prime areas of opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"

While the Klint Kubiak era is indeed in its infancy, the Las Vegas Raiders are in mid-season form in one particular aspect: Penalties.<\/p>\n

After engaging in two of the three preseasons games, Kubiak\u2019s desert marauders racked up 17 infractions to the tune of 158 yards. The Silver & Black\u2019s most recent outing \u2014 a 22-20 comeback win over the Houston Texans this past Thursday night \u2014 showcased nine penalties to the tune of 83 yards. And no part of the Raiders\u2019 game was immune as early in the game, all three phases (offense, defense, and special teams) partook in mental lapses resulting in infractions.<\/p>\n

In Las Vegas\u2019 first preseason tilt \u2014 against the Arizona Cardinals on Aug. 13 \u2014 the team committed eight penalties for 75 yards.<\/p>\n

And Kubiak is none to happy.<\/p>\n

A stickler for attention to detail, his football team\u2019s habit of mental lapses isn\u2019t ideal \u2014 even for a rookie head coach in his first season helming an NFL franchise. But Kubiak takes full onus of the situation noting that blame falls upon his shoulders in the immediate aftermath during the post-game press conference. And he expanded upon it during media availability Friday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cHolding guys accountable, working, drilling things that we didn\u2019t do as well. For instance, a back block on Roman Hemby, educating guys better on the rules,\u201d Kubiak explained when asked how does he intend to coach penalties out of his team. \u201cWe got D-Cam (cornerback Decamerion Richardson), made a costly error running out of bounds. I know that\u2019s things that we coach them on every day, but we do have a lot of young guys that you can\u2019t take anything for granted. So, we put it on ourselves as coaches number one, with how we educate them, what we\u2019re practicing, what we\u2019re drilling, and it\u2019s on us, as coaches, to get it fixed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richardson\u2019s gaffe, in particular, occurred on the Raiders\u2019 second offensive drive (post Fernando Mendoza pick six), and negated a booming 64-yard punt by punter AJ Cole III which was downed deep in Texans\u2019 territory inside the 10-yard line. Richardson ran out of bounds on the punt coverage and was the first to touch the ball resulting in Houston getting the ball on the 20-yard line. Eight plays and 48 yards later, the Texans drilled a 51-yard field goal to take a 17-0 lead in the opening quarter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019ve seen that many special teams penalties in a game, and you look at the guys that are committing these penalties, and these are some younger guys, and it\u2019s not acceptable,\u201d Kubiak said. \u201cSo, we have to get it fixed defensively. We get a stop on third down, we taunt a guy and let them stay on the field. Unacceptable. One was a face mask defensively. It\u2019s two weeks in a row that, as a coaching staff, we\u2019ve got substitution penalties. Unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The taunting penalty arrived when promising 2026 draft fourth-round pick Jermod McCoy was flagged for doing a dual thumbs down as he stood above a Texan after an incompletion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve heard plenty of previous Raiders coaching staffs lament on eliminating or reducing penalties and that job is on them as coaches. So it\u2019ll be intriguing to see if Kubiak and his crew can course correct going forward.<\/p>\n

Yes, the Raiders rested a vast swath of defensive starters against the Texans \u2014 cornerback Darien Porter was one of a handful of potential starters active and on the field in second preseason clash \u2014 but even accounting for that and the vanilla play calls used in exhibition tilts, tackling issues remain for the Silver & Black.<\/p>\n

As you can see from the post above from NFL Plus, Houston running back Woody Marks is already a tough tackle and the Raiders defenders had a rough time wrapping him up proper on the opening drive. Marks 20-yard touchdown on the Texans first possession was a prime example of Raiders getting to him \u2014 like safety Tristin McCollum and Porter \u2014 but Houston was not to be denied. Marks ended up carrying both Raiders safety Treydan Stukes and linebacker Tommy Eichenberg into the end zone with him.<\/p>\n

Las Vegas\u2019 tackling ability did improve as Houston began to substitute in more second-, third-string players and the roster hopefuls. And it wasn\u2019t all a lost cause as both McCollum and Stukes showcased strong tackling ability in the open field when presented opportunities. Stukes, in particular, used his instincts, speed, and explosion to diagnose and react to a play for a tackle behind the line of scrimmage. An encouraging sign of progress for the 2026 second-round pick who was slow to garner first-team defensive snaps in training camp practices.<\/p>\n

McCollum and 2026 fifth-round pick Dalton Johnson paced Las Vegas with seven total tackles each, while defensive end Patrick Johnson and defensive tackle Thomas Booker led the team with two stops for loss. A major portion of the comeback victory was takeaways by the Raiders defense as two strip sacks resulted in a pair of takeaways.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a team, being plus one in the turnover margin, that\u2019s how you win games. So, with (defensive coordinator) Rob (Leonard) taking it away, with our offense protecting the ball, that\u2019s how you win,\u201d Kubiak said. \u201cYou\u2019ve obviously got to score, but you\u2019ve got to you got to win the turnover battle. That was a huge part of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

What an ugly outing for undrafted free agent Kansei Matsuzawa against the Texans. Going 1-for-3 on point after attempts is not the impression you want to make on a Raiders coaching staff during a kicker \u201ccompetition\u201d.<\/p>\n

The first miss by Matsuzawa sailed wide right but the second one \u2014 after Las Vegas went ahead 22-20 in the waning moments of the game \u2014 was hideous. It was shanked so bad, I messaged our Matt Holder: \u201cThat second miss looked like I kicked it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matt\u2019s response: \u201cI think you\u2019d be hard pressed to find a kicker who has had a worse preseason in NFL history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Veteran kicker Matt Gay drilled a second-quarter 52-yard field goal to put the Raiders on the board in the second quarter (17-3). And unless he gets hurt or has a bout of shanks, too, Gay will likely be the choice for special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis with Matsuzawa 0-for-1 on field goal attempts and 1-for-3 on extra points.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, resilience. The resilience sticks out because we shot ourselves in the foot. We had nine penalties, five on special teams. The first half was atrocious. We started slow on both sides of the ball, and in the NFL, it\u2019s all about winning the game. And so, we gutted it out and found a way to win, and that\u2019s how this whole season\u2019s going to be. All these games come down to the wire, and you get to learn a lot about players in practice, but you learn a whole lot more, and when the live bullets are flying in a game, and I learned a lot about guys in a good way last night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak on what stood out watching the second preseason game film<\/p>\n