Geno Smith still has questions to answer after Titans game

The Las Vegas Raiders enjoyed their most complete performance of the season on Sunday, dismantling the Tennessee Titans 20-10.

Many of the problems that were highlighted over the past few weeks were corrected. The defense made big plays to swing the momentum in the Raiders’ favor, Ashton Jeanty received another large workload on offense and even special teams bounced back after a rough few outings. It all coincided with a game where the Raiders never felt like they were in any danger of dropping their fifth straight game.

However, lost in the long-absent euphoria of victory was that the biggest question of all facing the Raiders still went unanswered.

Geno Smith did not lose the game for the Raiders, but he did not win it either.

While the game went firmly in the Raiders’ favor, quarterback Geno Smith was the first to admit that it was not the type of performance he wanted from himself.

“Yeah, I mean, it wasn’t as clean as I would like,” Smith said in his post-game presser.

Against the Titans, Smith threw for 174 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

The interception to Titans linebacker Cody Barton in the fourth quarter meant Smith was the first quarterback this season to hit double-digit interceptions. He and Kirk Cousins are now the only quarterbacks since 2020 to throw for ten or more interceptions in their first six games. It is an uncomfortable reality for Smith, who finished third in the league with 15 interceptions thrown last season and looks to be among the leaders in that category again.

“Obviously, can’t throw an interception in that situation. I was trying to dirt the ball,” Smith said about his turnover, trying to make light of the situation. “I told coach, I need to go jump in the lake or ocean or something. It’s just a lot of bad luck stuff happening to me but I’m in control of that.”

The Raiders largely avoided the backbreaking mistakes that have plagued them in recent weeks, but they need more from Smith going forward to truly turn their season around.