Three of the Biggest Takeaways From Raiders' Humbling Loss

The Change That Needed To Happen

Shortly after this game, it was revealed that the Raiders will be cutting ties with their offensive coordinator, Chip Kelly. This is a move that should've been made a week ago when they were embarrassed against the Dallas Cowboys, but better late than never.

This is something the Raiders had to do, and I expect more firings from this team moving forward if they aren't able to even be competitive in their losses. The Raiders made him the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the league under Pete Carroll, and he deserves a lot of slack for how bad this panned out for them.

Ultimately, this is a good thing for the Raiders. They had no future with Kelly as their offensive coordinator, and hopefully, every NFL team learns its lesson. He's pretty successful in college, but doesn't have the most amazing track record in the NFL.

Like I said, more change needs to come, and that starts with Geno Smith. He needs to be benched; there's no reason why they should be fielding him out there when he's hurting their chances of winning, and it's clear he doesn't want to be there.

(Im)Perfect Timing

Another interesting takeaway from this game is how much the Raiders may be regretting their choice of passing up on Sanders repeatedly during the NFL draft. They needed a young quarterback prospect, and it felt like Sanders was a match made in heaven.

His debut wasn't anything outstanding; he got intercepted, and his only passing touchdown was on a 66-yard screen play. Nevertheless, he still outplayed the quarterback the Raiders are paying millions for to keep on their roster, and that must sting a little bit.

Sanders may not have had the numbers Smith did, but he stepped up and outplayed him in his first career start. The Browns' defense was able to sack Smith ten times, while Sanders navigated the pressure being sent his way and was only sacked three times.

That speaks volumes to the character the Raiders passed up on, and I'm sure they're reeling from their decision. The young quarterback they did take in the draft isn't even on their active roster, so perhaps it was a blessing in disguise for Sanders that he wasn't drafted by the Raiders.

Winning Even in Their Loss

As embarrassing as a loss this was for the Raiders, getting thoroughly outclassed by a team with the same record as you, there's a silver lining in all this. Even better than them finally getting rid of Kelly, they improve their chances of landing the number one overall pick.

The Browns were their direct competition for a spot in the top five picks of the 2026 NFL draft, and with their win, the Raiders are firmly in 5th place. They may have lost, but they have leapfrogged a team with the same needs as them.

The Raiders have to nail their first-round draft selection if they want any hope of getting out of the hole they've dug themselves in, but this loss serves as the time when the Raiders finally took some action.

It's unfortunate that it had to take this long, but the Raiders are finally moving in a positive direction. The chance of them losing out for the rest of the season is high, as the only opponent under .500 they face is the New York Giants, and they just took the Detroit Lions to overtime.