The Week 12 blowout loss to the Cleveland Browns showed just how far off the 2025 Las Vegas Raiders are from being a competitive team in the league. Both clubs came into the game at 2-8 and, despite having a quarterback making his first NFL start, the Browns jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and it was at least a two-possession contest from there on out.
Meanwhile, the majority of the Raiders’ young players continue to ride the bench because head coach Pete Carroll refuses to play them, giving the organization no direction regarding the bigger plan or long-term vision. So, once again, there’s little to no room for optimism in this week’s winners and losers column.
LOSER: Pete Carroll
It’s the same thing every week. The Raiders continue to put players on the field who have no future with the team, only to lose by multiple possessions for the sixth time this season. Meanwhile, Carroll has the audacity to continue to say that the reason why rookies like Caleb Rogers, Charles Grant, etc. aren’t playing is because he’ll only put guys into the game who can help the team win.
Pete, you are 2-9, TWO AND NINE! The head coach has tangible evidence that the lineups he’s been using don’t produce wins—even against a team that, on paper, was equally as bad as Las Vegas has been this season—yet he still refuses to make a change. Then again, anyone who has argued with someone in their mid 70s knows how difficult it is to change an old person’s mind, so I guess we should expect this.
This is one of the worst teams in franchise history, and part of the problem is that the head coach is the grandpa at the Thanksgiving table who won’t budge on any argument despite the entire family agreeing that he’s wrong.
LOSER: Chip Kelly
This one is taking the low-hanging fruit since Kelly was fired almost immediately after the game. But he has to be included on the losers’ list after another absymal offensive performance from the Silver and Black. Everyone knew that Stone Forsythe versus Myles Garrett was a major mismatch (and that’s putting it lightly), and leaving Forsythe on an island for even one play in pass protection is a fireable offense.
It’s safe to say that any hopes of Kelly being an NFL coach are long gone, and he might even have a hard time getting an offensive coordinator job at the college level after the stench of this terrible performance.
LOSER: Mark Davis
When Carroll approached Davis about firing Kelly, Davis should have handed Carroll two pink slips: one for the offensive cordinator and another for the head coach. Look no further than the Browns final touchdown, which was a 66-yard score off of a screen pass on third and nine, for an example of the players quitting on their coach.
It’s pretty clear that the comPETE mentality is falling on deaf ears and the locker room isn’t buying into Carroll’s messaging. If the 74-year-old head coach isn’t establishing a culture and isn’t building for the future, what is he still doing in the building?
Davis owns a 93-146 record (39.5 winning percentage) in 15 years as an owner, and a 38-57 record (40.0 winning percentage) since moving to Las Vegas in 2020. Those marks will only get worse as this season goes on.
LOSER: Geno Smith
Yes, the Raiders gave up 10 sacks on Sunday. But heading into the game, everyone knew the offensive line was severly overmatched and a lot of those sacks were the result of Smith holding onto the ball for too long. Plus, even when he did have time, he missed several throws to Tre Tucker that could have kept the team in the game. But the real reason that Geno lands on the losers list this week is for flipping off fans as he was leaving the field.
If you don’t want to get booed in your home stadium, then play better. At the very least, be a professional and just head back into the locker room without saying a word to anyone. He could even skip the post-game media session or just give reporters one-word answers, but don’t disrpect the people who have spent their hard earned money just to watch arguably the worst team in the league play.
Derek Carr got booed plenty during his tenure with the Silver and Black, but Carr took his medicine and never treated or disrespected Raider Nation like that. A purely classless move by Smith that the organization has already appologized for, via Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Adam Hill, but nothing from the quarterback, at the time of writing…
LOSER: Brennan Carroll
I could call out specific players on the offensive line, but again, we know going into the game that guys like Forsythe were going to be overmatched. The fact of the matter is that the unit continues to look like a disorganized mess while players like Dylan Parham, Jordan Meredith and DJ Glaze have regressed from last season, not to mention Jackson Powers-Johnson.
That falls on the position group’s leader, as neoptism is the only factor keeping Carroll on Las Vegas’ coaching staff. Then again, it’s the only reason he has the job in the first place.
LOSER: Patrick Graham
I do cut Graham some slack because this defense significantly lacks talent. However, this is the seventh time in nine games that the Raiders have given up 24 points or more, and they were going against who completed four of 16 passing attempts during his professional debut the week before. This was an opportunity for the Raiders’ defense to carry the team to a win, and the unit failed. At this point, it’s hard to imagine that Graham survives another offseason in Las Vegas.
LOSER: Darnay Holmes
In full disclosure, I didn’t want to list many players on the losers list because the primary responsibility for this loss goes above anyone who was on the field. However, Holmes had seven snaps in coverage (eight total snaps) and gave up the second-most receiving yards (118) of any cornerback in the entire league for the week, according to Pro Football Focus. That comes out to 16.9 yards per pass play (not even per target) and can’t go ignored.
To put into perspective, the Browns’ Tyson Campbell gave up the third-most reciving yards (102), but Campbell was on the field for 53 more coverage snaps and surrendered 16 fewer yards than Holmes did.
WINNER: Ashton Jeanty
One of the few silver linings for the Raiders on Sunday was that Jeanty had a hanful of impressive reps despite the dreadful supporting cast. He had 108 yards from scrimmage, primarily due to forcing four missed tackles as rusher and five more as a receiver, per PFF. While Quinshon Judkins had the two touchdonws, the No. 6 overall pick had the more productive afternoon when it comes to the battle between the top rookie running backs.
WINNER: Draft positioning
The good news with Las Vegas’ loss is the organization now is in front of Cleveland when it comes to the 2026 NFL draft order. Also, if the two clubs do end the season with the same record, the Browns have the “tiebreaker” that yields them the higher first-round pick. So, this win did help boost the Raiders odds at getting a quarterback or at least a top five pick in April.
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