Raiders Must Immediately Fix Issues or Risk Another Lost Season

The Las Vegas Raiders find themselves in a familiar position despite massive offseason changes.

Sep 21, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty (2) is tackled by Washington Commanders safety Jeremy Reaves (39) and Commanders defensive end Dorance Armstrong (92) during the third quarter at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders have several fatal flaws that appear to get exposed more and more each week.

Grading the Raiders

John Breech of CBS Sports recently graded every team's performance on Sunday. He gave the Raiders a C-, which is surprisingly positive for a Raiders team with clear issues. Las Vegas followed up a poor showing on Monday night with another one on Sunday.

"The Raiders offense is definitely still a work in progress and became clear in this game. With Vegas trailing 20-10 at halftime, the Raiders had a chance go get back in the game, but that chance went out the window during a third quarter where the offense totaled just 37 yards. One problem is thatAshton Jeanty just hasn't been able to find very much room to run (He averaged just 3.7 yards per carry against the Commanders)," Breech said.

"It also didn't help things that the Raiders got burnt by several big plays on both defense and special teams. This was just a sloppy performance from a coach (Pete Carroll) who usually has his team ready to play. 

Smith has little time to go through his progressions, let alone make the correct throw and do so accurately. Las Vegas' offensive line has also failed to make running lanes for Jeanty. As talented as the rookie running back is, few running backs would be successful behind the Raiders' line.

Following Sunday's loss, Smith explained what the Raiders' offense must do to get the ground game going. Most would agree many of the Raiders' issues stem from the lack of dependable blocking from Las Vegas' offensive line.

“Just sticking with it. It’s not college, that's the reality, it's the big boy league and it's going to be tough every week. There is no cupcakes, there is no lollipops, it's big boy football week in and week out, and we have to help him [RB] [Ashton Jeanty], all around him, we have to be better so that he can go out there and show what he can do because he can do it,” Smith said. 

“He showed it in the NFL. He can do it. He’s running guys over, making guys miss. We just have to open up space for him, I need to get some better checks, get some better run calls so that he can go out there and showcase what he's capable of.”  

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