The Las Vegas Raiders seem to find a new low every game, and getting blown out by the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football adds to what’s been an embarrassing season for the organization. Additionally, that’s led to the Raiders continuing to slide in the Week 12 NFL Power Rankings.
ESPN
31. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 31
Who’s under the most pressure: Quarterback Geno Smith
After throwing 12 interceptions in the first nine games, Smith said he wanted to be one of the best in the league at protecting the football during the final eight weeks of the regular season. He added another interception Monday. His ability to keep the ball out of harm’s way will determine whether the offense finds its rhythm and his future with the organization. Whether Smith turns his season around or not, it’s clear the Raiders need to figure out their next plan at quarterback sooner rather than later. — Ryan McFadden
In my opinion, the biggest factor in Smith’s future with the Raiders depends on whether Pete Carroll is the head coach after this season. The 35-year-old quarterback is having his worst season since his rookie year, so I’d imagine a new coach would want to have a hand-picked signal caller. But if Carroll does stay in Las Vegas, Carroll’s made it no secret that Geno is his guy. For the record, the Raiders would save $8 million of cap space and take on $18.5 million of dead cap by releasing Smith this offseason, per Over The Cap.
The Athletic
30. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 28
A suggestion: Run the ball, just a little
Ashton Jeanty carried the ball twice in the first half and six times for the game — for 7 yards. The Raiders averaged 2.3 yards per carry as a group. For the season, Jeanty, the No. 6 pick in the draft, is 19th in the league in rushing (554 yards) and averaging 3.7 yards per carry. — Chad Graff and Josh Kendall
Adding to this, the Cowboys came into the game allowing 143.0 rushing yards per game, which ranked 28th in the NFL. Granted, adding Quinnen Williams makes a significant difference, as does the Raiders’ missing two starting offensive linemen—Kolton Miller and Jackson Powers-Johnson. But it’s still mind-boggling why the offense didn’t at least try to run the ball more on Monday night, and Carroll took responsibility for that by saying he had a hand in the offensive game plan.
NFL.com
31. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 28
Monday was bad. The Raiders showed spunk early but quickly folded like a chair, allowing four straight touchdown drives and turning a tight game into a blowout. Crummy defensive performances aren’t novel to these Raiders, but this one stuck out, and it probably could have been worse. Not that the offense was above reproach. Geno Smith had some rough moments — also nothing new. While Brock Bowers made some plays, there were a few big throws he couldn’t haul in. The offensive line looked like a unit that was cobbled together. Ashton Jeanty had four carries through the Raiders’ first 41 offensive plays. There was little rhythm and even less identity, and it reflected on the scoreboard. Things got interesting briefly, but that was followed by the dreaded false start-safety combo, and an onside kick the Raiders forgot to recover. — Eric Edholm
Edholm sums up the Silver and Black’s performance pretty well. It was a comedy of errors and an inexcusable mistakes. It’s pretty clear that this is a poorly coached team.
Bleacher Report
28. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 28
Since the Raiders’ Week 8 bye, Las Vegas is getting worse by the week. An overtime loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, where they didn’t convert a two-point conversion for the win was followed by a sub-188-yard offensive performance against the rival Denver Broncos. During Monday Night Football, the Cowboys dominated most of the contest.
Dallas was even a little rusty coming off its bye week. After a slow start through two offensive series, the Cowboys scored on the next five possessions. The Raiders defense, which was believed to be the stronger side of the ball, didn’t have many answers.
This reality only makes life more difficult, because Las Vegas’ offense is severely limited with no real threat at wide receiver. At 2-8, the Raiders aren’t anywhere near where they were supposed to be after hiring the oldest head coach in NFL history and bringing in veteran quarterback Geno Smith into the fold. — Kristopher Knox
In addition to Knox’s notes, the Raiders have gone from losing by one point to three and then 17 in their three games since the bye. Looking at the season as a whole, they’re third to last with a negative 98 point differential, and if it weren’t for drawing the last-place Tennessee Titans (-130) in Week 6, we’d likely be talking about Las Vegas dropping nine games in a row since the season opener in New England.
Sports Illustrated
30. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 31
The fact that Tom Brady was seen—or wanted to be seen—actively wearing a headset in Vegas’ first Monday night game and on this particular night was just hanging out in a luxury suite with Jim Gray is one of the funniest parts of this entire debacle. Is he part of the staff or not? Is he helping the coaches or not? Is he engaged on game day or not? — Conor Orr
This could be chalked up to the fact that Brady wearing the headset in Week 2 caused a stir with his role as commentator for Fox. However, Orr does bring up a good point about the extent to which the seven-time Super Bowl Champion’s influence affects the organization and its football decisions. He was sold as a potential savior for the franchise, but the results couldn’t be much worse in Brady’s first full season as a minority owner.
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It will be interesting to see how he and Mark Davis approach the offseason. Will they stick to their original plan and stay patient with Carroll and John Spytek? Or look at this disappointing campaign as a sign that they made a mistake last spring?
