Dec 16, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders guard Jordan Meredith (61) walks off the field after the Raiders were defeated by the Atlanta Falcons at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

The Direction the Raiders Are Clearly Heading In

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Fernando Alfaro-Donis | Last updated Nov 14, 2025 11:00 AM ET

At 2 - 7, the Las Vegas Raiders are nowhere near where they want to be under Pete Carroll. Once the Raiders signed him on to be their head coach, it gave Raider Nation hope that this year would be different from the rest, and at the bare minimum, they'd be a bad team with a fun offense.

Unfortunately for the Raiders, they're just flat out bad. This isn't a case where the record doesn't reflect a team's skill level, as they've often played like one of the worst teams in the NFL. That reflects badly on Carroll, who was in charge of making moves to make this roster better.

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Thomas Valentine is a sports writer for Pro Football Focus, and he wrote an article ranking each NFL team based on where they are at this point in the season. The close loss to the Denver Broncos bumped them up one spot, but they remain near the bottom of the NFL.

"This isn’t what Pete Carroll signed up for, but maybe it’s what was always destined to be. The quality of personnel on both sides of the ball, particularly on the offensive line (second-most sacks allowed, seventh-highest pressure rate allowed) and in the secondary (46.2 coverage grade; 30th), was potentially overestimated", said Valentine.

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The Raiders ended the free agency period with money still left to spend, but opted to trust in the players they already had. They had the cap space necessary to bring in a veteran offensive lineman or defensive back for depth, but they didn't. Those signings may have equated to nothing, but the fact that they didn't try means they were either overconfident or unwilling to fully buy in this year, which both speak to who's in charge of the team's direction.

"As a result, the Raiders’ offense is one of the worst in the NFL (30th in EPA per play), and the defense is top-heavy, relying on big hitters like Maxx Crosby (75.5 grade; 27th) to cover the cracks. The Raiders are 2-7, languishing at the bottom of the AFC West and heading toward a top-five pick. Again".

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Geno Smith suffered a quad contusion in their loss to the Broncos and has to come back strong this week. As for their defense, they're gonna have to rely on having a good 2026 NFL Draft class to get some talent in the door and hope that it can work out in their favor.

This article first appeared on Las Vegas Raiders on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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