How the Raiders Finally Showed Signs of Life

The Las Vegas Raiders have lost nine games in a row. Las Vegas has lost 13 of its past 14 games. Overall, the Raiders' 2025 season has been a lost one for some time. There have not been many positives that anyone affiliated with the Raiders could legitimately take from this season.

Sunday's loss to the Houston Texans was another loss added to the losses already piling up for the Raiders. Yet Sunday was different from all those losses as well. Although the Raiders had lost several other close games, they looked like a much better team than their record suggested on Sunday.

Grading the Raiders

On Sunday, the Raiders refused to back down to a Texans team that was much better than them on paper. Las Vegas looked like a team that understood games are not won and lost on the stat sheet, but on the football field. They nearly beat one of the best teams in the league on Sunday.

Las Vegas undoubtedly has a ways to go, as their 2-13 record confirms. However, it was always known the turnaround the Raiders are searching for would take time. Sunday's loss may have been confirmation that they are closer to turning things around than initially thought.

The Raiders have only two games left in the season, and winning may do them more harm than good. As Sunday proved, though, progress is still possible, even in a loss, and even in a lost season. Las Vegas appeared to make some progress on Sunday, on one level or another.

John Breech of CBS Sports recently graded every team's performance from Week 16's slate of games. After weeks of poor play, the Raiders' uptick in productivity against the best defense in the National Football League earned a C+ grade from Breech. The Raiders are making progress.

"Pete Carroll is an old-fashioned coach who loves to win football games by running the ball and playing defense, and that formula almost led to one of the biggest upsets of the NFL season. TheRaiders rushing attack took off behind Ashton Jeanty, who somehow gashed his way for 128 yards and a touchdown against the best defense in the NFL," Breech said.

"Jeanty, who also added a huge 60-yard touchdown reception, accounted for 188 of Vegas' 315 yards in the game. Defensively, the Raiders forced four three-and-outs, but even that wasn't enough. In his return to the field, Geno Smith made one huge mistake with a pick-six in the first half and that proved to be costly."

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