Silver And Black Pride
The Week 5 contest between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Indianapolis Colts is a battle between two teams that have had opposite starts to the 2025 season. At 1-3, the Raiders haven’t met expectations and have been disappointing so far. Meanwhile, the 3-1 Colts have exceeded expectations and are the biggest surprise in the NFL right now.
Also, Indianapolis looks like a legitimate playoff contender in the AFC, and Las Vegas must win on Sunday to keep any remaining postseason hopes alive. That heightens the stakes for this week’s key matchups.
While Daniel Jones taking over at quarterback has played a role in the Colts’ resurgence, make no mistake about it, the team’s offense still runs through running back Jonathan Taylor.
Taylor currently leads the NFL with 414 rushing yards and is on pace to post similar numbers as the 2021 campaign, when he won the rushing crown with 1,811 yards. He’s averaging 5.4 yards per carry and 103.5 yards per game, 0.1 and 3.0 yards fewer than four years ago.
So, it’s going to be extremely important for the Raiders’ defensive line to win in the trenches to slow the two-time Pro Bowler down, especially against the Colts’ best run blocker.
Nelson will be a Hall of Famer when it’s all said and done, as he’s been paving the way in Indianapolis for nearly a decade. He’s made the Pro Bowl in seven out of seven full seasons while also earning five All-Pro bids (three first-team, two second-team) and doesn’t appear to be slowing down in 2025. Through four games, the 2018 sixth overall pick is Pro Football Focus’ third-highest-graded run-blocking guard with a mark of 81.3.
On the other side, Laulu certainly doesn’t have the resume his counterpart has. The second-year pro didn’t become a fixture on Las Vegas’ defensive line until the second half of last season. However, he’s been a starter in two out of four contests this year and has seen a rise in snap counts every week, while also putting together a promising performance as a run defender against the Washington Commanders.
Considering Laulu has spent 96 out of 145 snaps at right defensive tackle or end, and Nelson lines up at left guard, those two should face off against each other often on Sunday. Also, there’s a revenge factor at play for the defensive tackle. The Colts drafted him in the seventh round last year, but he was waived at the end of training camp before the Raiders claimed him, adding an extra layer of motivation for the Las Vegas native.
Latu is an emerging pass-rusher in the league. While the second-year pro only has one sack so far in 2025, he ranks in the Top 25 among edge defenders with 15 pressures according to PFF. To add more context, he missed one game and only has 74 pass-rush snaps, the fewest of any player in the aforementioned Top 25....
