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.
Jonah Laulu vs. Quenton Nelson
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.
DJ Glaze vs. Laiatu Latu
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. Also, the 2024 first-round pick’s pass-rush win rate (30.0 percent) ranks third, trailing only Myles Garrett and Will Anderson Jr., and two points better than Micah Parsons.
Since Latu has spent 100 out of his 118 defensive snaps as a left outside linebacker or LEO, he’ll be going up against Glaze for the majority, if not all, of this week’s game.
The best way to describe the right tackle’s performance in pass protection this year is inconsistent. In Weeks 1 and 3 combined, he allowed 10 pressures (two sacks) and posted PFF pass-blocking grades below 50 in both games. But in Weeks 2 and 4, he surrendered just three pressures (no sacks) and earned grades of 78.5 and 68.4.
It will be interesting to see how Las Vegas approaches giving its offensive tackles help in pass protection on Sunday. While it might make sense to give Glaze some assistance against Indy’s best pass-rusher, Kolton Miller was recently placed on injured reserve. So the line will be starting a backup on the left side, who could also use some support, which might lead to more one-on-one battles between Latu and Glaze.
Also, part of what made the UCLA product a coveted draft prospect is that he can win in multiple ways as a pass-rusher, including with speed and finesse moves. The latter is what has given the Maryland product trouble in the past, meaning he’ll need to be on top of his game this weekend.
Interior Offensive Line vs. DeForest Buckner & Grover Stewart
The Silver and Black’s rushing attack finally broke through against the Bears, and improved play from the interior offensive line was the primary reason. Dylan Parham, Jordan Meredith and Jackson Powers-Johnson all had their best games as run blockers last week, in my opinion. However, Chicago’s defensive tackles are weak run defenders, and the Raiders’ unit won’t have that luxury this time around.
Buckner and Stewart are one of the best defensive tackle duos in the league when it comes to stopping the run. The former currently ranks tied for second at the position with eight ‘defensive stops’ as a run defender, while the latter is tied for 12th with six, per PFF.
Also, Stewart’s 71.0 run defense grade is 18th among interior defenders, and he’s been a boulder in the trenches since entering the NFL in 2017. Granted, despite the production above, Buckner hasn’t fared well in PFF’s grading system so far this season with a 56.8 mark against the run. That’s 0.1 points above his career low and would be just the second time in 10 years he falls below the baseline (60.0), if the figure holds over the next three months.
Regardless, Parham, Meredith and Powers-Johnson need to prove that last week was a sign of them turning a corner and not just taking advantage of the opponent. Additionally, all three must come ready to play since the Colts will have their defensive tackles flip sides of the center throughout the game.
