We’re five weeks into the 2025 season and the Las Vegas Raiders are already teetering on the brink of irrelevance. Then again, at 1-4, they might have already fallen off the cliff as Sunday’s 40-6 blowout loss to the Indianapolis Colts highlighted how far off the Raiders are from being a contender. That leaves little room for optimism in this week’s winners and losers column.
LOSER: Pete Carroll
Since he took the job, Carroll has emphasized that the team is aiming to “win now” and remain competitive. However, the Raiders have been anything but competitive this season, not only losing four games in a row but also dropping three contests by at least two possessions. After Sunday’s game, the head coach even said that he expected “to win right out of the chutes” and that he’s processing the team’s start “poorly”.
What’s even more frustrating is that Carroll seems stuck in his ways and resistant to making changes. The best example is that Geno Smith is playing arguably the worst football of his career, but the head coach refuses to make a quarterback change. Even in a blowout, Smith took every snap for Las Vegas because the offense needs to keep practicing together, according to the head coach. So, after a full offseason and training camp, a 13-year veteran still needs practice?
Something needs to change quickly, or Carroll is going to risk losing the locker room, and it’s decisions (or non-decisions) like this that have many in the fanbase calling for his job just five games in.
LOSER: Geno Smith
As mentioned above, Smith has been terrible for the majority season so far. He’s up to a league-leading nine interceptions after tossing two more on Sunday, which easily could have been three if it weren’t for a dropped pick.
To put it in perspective, Smith had eight interceptions through five games during his rookie year, when he threw a career-high 21 INTs. At least in that campaign, he had a “big-time throw” rate of 5.0 percent, per Pro Football Focus. In 2025, his BTT percentage is just 2.9. So, the Raiders are getting the high-turnover version of Smith without even getting the high-end rewards.
LOSER: Tom McMahon
Las Vegas’ special teams have been an absolute mess in the early portion of the season. The team has given up several momentum-swinging plays in that phase of the game, including a blocked punt that led to A.J. Cole suffering an injury, which prevented him from punting for the rest of the game. Also, it didn’t count because of a hold that was on the other side of the play, but the Colts returned a kickoff for a touchdown to further highlight the issues with McMahon’s unit.
Through five games, the Raiders are allowing the fourth-highest average yards per kickoff return (28.1), have the third-lowest net yards per punt (35.9) and own the worst PFF special teams grade (46.1) by nearly five points. That’s without even mentioning the blocked field goat that cost them the win against the Chicago Bears. Clearly, something needs to change.
LOSER: Kyu Blu Kelly
After a promising start to the campaign, Kelly has been getting exposed over the last three weeks. He’s been targeted 15 times during that time frame, giving up 12 completions for 215 yards with just one pass breakup, per PFF. It all came to a head in Indianapolis, as he surrendered a career- and team-high 90 yards on four receptions and six targets, earning an ugly 27.8 coverage grade.
Considering that Darien Porter has been solid when called upon over the last few weeks, Kelly will likely get demoted once Eric Stokes returns from injury, which could be as early as the upcoming week.
LOSER: Devin White
In a similar vein, White looked good during his first two contests for the Silver and Black but has been regressing since then. Opponents are picking on him in coverage, drawing 13 targets for 10 catches and 107 yards over the last two games, including Daniel Jones going five-for-five with 39 yards when throwing at the linebacker.
Additionally, he’s been struggling as a run defender with marks from PFF in the mid-40s or lower over the last three weeks, recording a 41.2 run defense grade on Sunday. Part of the problem is that White is up to seven missed tackles during that timeframe after whiffing twice against the Colts.
Considering the veteran’s play recently, it might be time to give young backers Tommy Eichenberg and Cody Lindenberg a chance to prove themselves.
LOSER: Dont’e Thornton Jr.
Since recording two catches for 45 yards in the season opener, Thornton has just three grabs and 49 yards in four games. To make matters worse, he hasn’t had a catch in the last two weeks, and that isn’t for a lack of opportunities. He’s run 40 routes and been targeted four times, per PFF.
Especially with Brock Bowers out or not 100 percent, the Raiders need more production from their wide receiver room, and the rookie isn’t delivering it. Swapping the fourth-round pick’s playtime with second-rounder Jack Bech’s workload feels like an obvious change the coaching staff should make moving forward.
WINNER: Dylan Paraham, Jackson Powers-Johnson
The Raiders don’t deserve more than one winner after Sunday’s performance, which is why Parham and Powers-Johnson are lumped together.
The one silver lining from the last two weeks is that the offense is making significant strides in the running game. Ashton Jeanty exploded for a big performance against Chicago, and Las Vegas totaled 106 rushing yards and 4.2 yards per carry in Indy. Especially when it comes to the latter, the two guards are big reasons for the resurgence.
Both earned elite run blocking grades from PFF, Parham posting a 92.1 and Powers-Johnson coming in at 90.6. Heading into Monday Night Football, those are the two highest-graded guards in the ground game for the week.
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