The Las Vegas Raiders are in a very precarious position coming out of the bye week with a 2-7 record. Technically, Sin City is still in the playoff conversation, despite their fading hopes. Raiders are in position to pick fifth overall in the 2025 NFL draft. The question is how we got here and what the Silver and Black need to do next.
Too many chefs in the kitchen
Many across Raider Nation will immediately point to the head coach, Antonio Pierce. Few will be fair to him due to the brashness of his personality; instead, they will mock his “Raiders” battle cry. Some will say he’s a terrible head coach; others will ask what it is that he brings to the franchise. His role as a manager of coaches and a motivator has proven insufficient. The coaching staff he assembled and the excessive number of chefs in the kitchen deserve harsh criticism.
Tom Coughlin, Marvin Lewis, and Joe Philbin were all former head coaches with varying degrees of success in the league. Curiously, none of their combined expertise and wisdom appear to have played any part in helping the team win games and function cohesively. Begging the question, “What exactly is it that they are doing?”
Pierce’s clock management issues have yet to dissipate. “Trust your gut” has gotten AP practically nowhere. More importantly, what has he had to work with? Once again, the offense has been dragging the defense underwater. Who was supposed to fill the holes in the roster and supply the talent?
Roster holes
Tom Telesco, Raiders general manager, in his inaugural year elected to roll over $34 million in cap space into 2025 due to non-usage. That was after not paying Josh Jacobs the contract he was asking for and before trading Davante Adams during the season. Telesco, despite best intentions and laid plans, was unable to procure the Raiders quarterback of the future. Nor was Telesco able to add many meaningful pieces going forward.
Under Telesco’s watch, the Raiders drafted the current NFL reception leader, tight end Brock Bowers, center/guard Jackson Powers-Johnson, and right tackle Delmar Glaze. Bringing back center Andre James on a contract with dead money outside of the 2024 season was stupid. There haven’t been many roster additions since. When the injuries began piling up, there were no moves to counteract the loss of pivotal players.
Week after week, the offense struggles to move the ball outside of the opening script, and the defense has been unable to maintain the ferocity it showed during last season’s stretch run. Injury happens to every NFL team, including the Raiders, but this team lacks depth. That issue has followed Telesco since his days with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Coaching failures
Regrettably, the offensive coaching staff bears the primary responsibility. It is common knowledge that AP is a defensive guy, and offense isn’t his area of expertise. James Cregg, former offensive line coach, took a middle-of-the-pack trending upward offensive line and turned them into a turnstile. This offensive line is so bad that it hurts to watch, making every facet of offense unachievable.
James has performed so poorly this season that pointing out his shortcomings makes one feel like a bully. Two players on offense touch the ball every single play, the center and the quarterback. Neither one of these players has seemingly done much of anything positive for the Raiders, and that’s a major problem. James has consistently struggled in goal-to-go and short-yardage situations, to the point where it should be considered an official defensive stat. The tip of the spear of the Raiders offense is rounded, blunted, and somehow softened. This transitions into the quarterback’s terrible and inept performance.
The fired offensive coordinator, Luke Getsy, was unable to ignite the Raiders’ offense past the first defensive adjustments opposing teams made against him. Throughout OTA’s and training camp, the quarterback competition was a “suck-off” between players who could perform worse. Gardner Minshew was a backdoor Pro Bowl player under Shane Steichen of the Indianapolis Colts. Incumbent second-year player Aidan O’Connell showed an ability to win games if everything around him was excellent last season. Neither one of them has played to their capabilities under Getsy.
Perplexities on the field
As much blame as Getsy and the coaching staff must absorb, everything isn’t his fault. We must also hold players accountable, as Minshew has consistently committed three turnovers per game on average. While there’s no such thing as “good turnovers,” we grade aggressive turnovers differently than sheer dumbassery. We have watched Minshew throw fumble-sixes, turn the ball over in the red zone, fumble when tackled, and be reckless with the football.
The entire running back room has demonstrated problems with ball security. Zamir White and Dylan Laube have both given up crucial game-altering fumbles. Additionally, the performance of running back coach Carnell Williams has been appalling. Despite AP’s desire to be a tough, physical run-first team, it hasn’t materialized.
Adding all these elements together results in an inefficient offense that fails to execute effectively. Surprisingly, the scheme isn’t a disastrous one; if properly executed, things should be much different. Winning the time-of-possession battle would aid the defense tremendously.
Misfits are misfiring
Patrick Graham’s defense has a flaw that strangely enough keeps it in games until it’s too late. His defense solely deploys two linebackers at a time, retreating corners to 8–9 yards before the snap and advancing into deep thirds or fourths. This leads to a multifaceted failure, which includes the creation of light boxes, the elimination of underneath coverage, and the inability to generate a consistent corresponding rush.
Smarter opponents are simply taking what the Raiders defense is giving them and marching them down the field on the fifth lowest DADOT (defense average depth of target): 6.7 yards per attempt.
It hasn’t been all bad; this season has brought on the emergence of Agent 0, Jakorian Bennett, who has taken the mantle of CB1 for the Raiders. Regardless of how well Bennett has played, without pressure and underneath coverage, Jack Jones hasn’t been able to intercept many passes. The linebackers are unable to cover all the areas they are responsible for, and when they blitz, they leave the middle of the field empty. Furthermore, the Raiders lead the league in missed tackles with 81; the next closest is the Green Bay Packers with 74.
Injuries have taken the punk rock out of the self-proclaimed Misfits. Nate Hobbs recently got injured against the Bengals, Maxx Crosby missed time for the first time in his career, Malcolm Koonce was on the injured reserve list before the season started, Tyree Wilson was injured for a spell, Marcus Epps has missed time, and the absence of Divine Deablo has all been impactful. With nearly half the starting defense missing time, it has compromised the overall product.
Raiders at the crossroads
Where do they go from here? A minimum win requirement to enter the playoffs is 10 wins. That would require the Raiders to run the table for the rest of the season and sweep the remaining divisional matchups. Impossible? No. Improbable, for sure. Raiders often make late-season runs to the playoffs but also lose after many “meaningless wins.” In this case, using the “t” word may benefit the team, even though professionals dislike it.
Tanking is the process of trying to lose games in order to procure a higher spot in the upcoming draft. It’s usually practiced by middling teams in an effort to obtain a vital piece missing from the roster.
Let’s get one thing clear: the Raiders aren’t currently good enough to tank—or are they? Smart money would say no, or they probably wouldn’t have fired their offensive coordinator, offensive line coach, and quarterbacks coach. One thing stands out prominently: it’s not so much about their actions as it is about their inactions.
The team did not add a franchise quarterback in the offseason, instead opting for a journeyman backup who qualified for the Pro Bowl on a technicality. The lack of a franchise quarterback led to the decision to trade Adams for a third-round pick. The team opted for a committee backfield instead of paying Jacobs.
Consequently, Alexander Mattison, a running back that the Minnesota Vikings felt was expendable, was brought in to compliment White and has since taken over the starting role. The inability to secure any of AP’s first three offensive coordinator choices is concerning, as it resulted in Getsy’s dismissal and put Pierce in the hot seat.
Patsy? Antonio Pierce never stood a chance…
The team promoted AP from interim coach to permanent coach, expecting him to win with the roster he already had. Did he sell Mark Davis a dream in order to get the position? Was AP set up to fail? He didn’t receive any of the necessary ingredients for success in the offseason. He no longer has the two best weapons on the team from last season.
He has left his defense stranded on the field for what feels like more than 40 minutes per game. “Next man up” is an old football cliche, but in reality, he’s starting every game at the competitive disadvantage of 2’s/3’s vs. the ones. With so much adversity and so much for the team to gain by losing, the question of what is truly best for the Raiders arises.
If AP is not the scapegoat, compelling Getsy to resign could potentially save his job. He can maintain his job by avoiding mistakes, defeat, and potentially winning up to two games.
*Top Photo: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Bye Week Couldn’t Have Come At A Better Time For The Las Vegas Raiders