Darren McFadden Injury: Loss of RB Gives Raiders Lack of Big Play Punch

With the early-week NFL games, we get far more detailed injury reports. If someone was seriously injured for a game on Sunday, chances are good that they won't be playing the following Thursday. 

Case in point is Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden. 

Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 11:55 a.m. EST

ESPN's John Clayton reported that McFadden's status for Thursday's game at San Diego does not look good. 

That's a bit of a double whammy for the Raiders. Their defense had a terrible game against the Broncos rushing attack, allowing 100-plus yards to both Willis McGahee and Tim Tebow. 

But let's take a look at this from the perspective of the Raiders offense. 

They have plenty of runners on the team to carry the load and keep Carson Palmer from having to throw too many passes. That's not a real problem for the Raiders.

But do they have that consistent threat from the running game? Do they have the ability for big plays without having to put the ball in the air?

Well, yes they do. Taiwan Jones may be raw at this point, but his speed makes him a genuine threat to score on every play. 

But that logic applied last Sunday against Denver. How was Jones used? Two carries. He just wasn't given the chance to get to the edge and use his speed.

Remember that McFadden didn't play in that game. 

Now, am I saying that the Raiders won't win on Thursday? Not necessarily. The Chargers will also be without weapons.

Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 12:15 p.m. EST

Dov Kleiman is reporting that Chargers receiver Malcom Floyd will not play on Thursday. 

But, generally speaking to win on the road, you need to run well. Now the Raiders still have that element, but the lack of McFadden makes them significantly more one-dimensional, even in the run game.