Dec 14, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Las Vegas Raiders Head Coach Pete Carroll talks with players on the sidelines during the first quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Why the Raiders Must Keep On Believing

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Ezekiel Trezevant | Last updated Dec 21, 2025 9:00 AM ET

The Las Vegas Raiders are set for arguably their stiffest challenge of the season on Sunday when they face the Houston Texans.

Few Believe in the Raiders

Las Vegas will take on a solid Texans team on the road on Sunday. Pete Prisco of CBS Sports does not like the Raiders' chances of winning.

"The Raiders are bad right now with little semblance of an offense, while the Texans are the best defense in the league. That's a bad combination. The Raiders are also playing consecutive road games with no chance for the playoffs, while the Texans would be in the postseason right now and need it. Texans in a blowout," Prisco said.

Las Vegas' offense has struggled the entire season. Since then, the unit has sustained multiple significant injuries to the offensive line and has been unable to recover.

Earlier this week, Raiders Interim Offensive Coordinator Greg Olson explained some of the things he believes will help the Raiders' offense figure things out. The Raiders' offense has several issues that must be addressed immediately. Las Vegas will have time for wholesale changes in the offseason.

"Yeah, we need more possessions, and part of that is certainly staying on the field on third downs. But when you look at it, I think we had three possessions in the first half and three in the second half, and then two two-minute drives. And the last two-minute drive was on our own one with two minutes left in the fourth quarter,” Olson said.

“So, we've got to find a way to stay in the field, and doing that is, one, converting third downs or staying out of third downs, and getting more first downs on first and second down. So, it's just getting more possessions on the field."

The Raiders' offense has struggled with coaches calling the plays after Chip Kelly was fired as the team's offensive coordinator. The unit has struggled regardless of who the quarterback was, too. It will be up to Olson to maximize the talent Las Vegas has available to them on Sunday.

Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

"Yeah, you have to. Again, I think that's your role as a play caller, as a coordinator, to me, is always to build around the players that you have. And it's certainly a different system than the ones I've ran in the past, but this is where we're at, and so I've got to do a better job of putting our players in a position to be successful,” Olson said.

“We have got to do a better job with the plan. We got to do a better job in the process during the week, and we got do a better job of executing each week. But you're always trying to find a way to get the ball in your playmakers' hands and give your quarterback a chance to succeed."

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

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