The Las Vegas Raiders were hoping to snap their three-game skid on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams. Quite the opposite happened, as a dormant Raiders' offense failed to get much going against a Rams team missing several critical players.

Sunday was another forgettable outing for Las Vegas, just two weeks after a similarly disappointing Week 5 loss to the New England Patriots. The Raiders' home performance against the Rams on Sunday was confirmation that the season's first seven games were accurate.

The Raiders can beat bad teams and compete with the league's best, but they need nearly everything to go right for them to beat the league's elite. Regardless of opponents' records or injuries, Las Vegas' roster is still a work in progress.

These Are the 2026 Raiders

Sunday's loss to the Rams confirmed that their 3-3, and now 3-4, record is exactly what it is. Las Vegas has a high ceiling and a low floor. They are right in between good and bad, which is still an improvement from where they were at the end of last season.

Las Vegas has reason to be cautiously optimistic about things in future seasons, but they are what they are this season. The Raiders are an improved team, but need more additions to their roster to truly compete with the league's best teams.

However, they also made enough changes during this past offseason to no longer be amongst the league's cellar dwellers. They are experiencing the expected growing pains of a team in its first season under a new head coach and a ton of new pieces on both sides of the ball.

Las Vegas is right where they are supposed to be.

Raiders Need More Pieces

Anyone who has followed the Raiders in recent seasons knows John Spytek was tasked with rebuilding one of the league's worst collections of talent. Even with all of the moves Spytek and the Raiders made this offseason, they still needed more.

In terms of roster-building, no team had a more productive offseason than Las Vegas. The rebuild they have embarked on will take multiple offseasons. Still, the Raiders entered the season with several roster holes that needed addressing, but likely cannot be addressed until after this season.

The Raiders have undoubtedly improved on both sides of the ball compared to last season. However, at some point, last season stops becoming the metric by which a team is judged. Halfway through the season is about that point.

As much as they have improved, Las Vegas still needs more pieces on both sides of the ball. The plays that work against the Raiders' defense and the unproductive play of its offense against elite teams are largely due to not having the pieces.

The season's first three games showed the improvement Las Vegas made during the offseason. Their four consecutive losses have confirmed exactly where they need more roster help. The Raiders need help along the offensive line, in their defensive backfield, and at wide receiver.

However, that is no surprise to Spytek and the Raiders' front office. A four-game losing streak is far from ideal, but at least Las Vegas now knows where to improve moving forward.

Raiders’ Offense Is Mediocre, at Best, Especially vs. Good-Elite Teams

If the Raiders' entire schedule included teams like the Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, and Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas' offense would be among the league's best. However, even serviceable defenses will give this Raiders offense trouble as they refuse to make the one change that could help.

After three games against three of the league's worst teams and three of the best, Las Vegas' Week 7 outing gave them a chance to beat a reeling Rams team. Los Angeles was the first team Las Vegas has played that fell between the bad teams and the elite teams they have faced this season.

The Rams were missing several defensive players, yet the Raiders' offense still struggled to move the ball, let alone score points. Sure, Las Vegas' defense can play better, but what does it matter if their offense scores only six points in three quarters?