The Las Vegas Raiders set themselves up for this. When they take on the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5, Vegas is going to stumble into the game with a banged up offensive line. An issue that was made worse before the season.
That was when the Raiders chose to do head coach Pete Carroll a favor and sign offensive tackle Stone Forsythe. Forsythe had spent the offseason with the New York Giants after they signed him in free agency, but he didn't work out and was released when final roster cuts were made.
Prior to being with New York, though, Forsythe spent four seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. He was drafted in the sixth-round of the 2021, and the person making the decisions in the draft for Seattle was Pete Carroll. Carroll being a loyal guy saw a lost Forsythe and had him come to Vegas.
Indianapolis Colts need to take advantage of the poor player of Raiders' Stone Forsythe
Forsythe was expected to be a backup this season, but after starting left tackle Kolton Miller hurt his ankle late in Week 4, the former Seahawks and Giants offensive lineman will get a start against the Colts. Here's the rub: Stone Forsythe is terrible and Indy should be able to take advantage of his presence.
This is especially true of edge rusher Laiatu Latu who had nine pressures against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 4, and they were missing their starting right tackle. Nine pressures might be too much to expect, but five or more could certainly happen. Indy also needs to get home against Raiders quarterback Geno Smith.
That should happen with Forsythe manning the most important spot along the offensive line. In 2024, he was forced to play right tackle after Seattle suffered a number of injuries. Overall, Forsythe allowed 35 total pressures, which was 24th in the league. He gave up those pressures in just six games, however.
Every other tackle who gave up more pressures played in at least 11 games. In two games, the offensive tackle allowed double-digit pressures. The Indianapolis Colts must take advantage.
One aspect of Forsythe's game that is decent, though, is in run blocking. This might mean that the Las Vegas Raiders are going to use rookie running back Ashton Jeanty a lot versus Indy. After a somewhat slow first three games, Jeanty had 138 yards rushing against the Chicago Bears in Week 4.
The rookie might see his use go up quite a bit against Indianapolis. This would help protect Geno Smith a bit more, but it would play to Stone Forsythe's strength. The key would be for the Colts to jump out to an early lead and then attack Forsythe aggressively with the pass rush.