Why All Eyes Are on Geno Smith in Week 1

The Las Vegas Raiders will begin their season against the New England Patriots on the road, which should be an entertaining battle between two head coaches on new teams, Pete Carroll and Mike Vrabel.

Both of these teams want to make a statement in the AFC in their first year under their new head coaches, and both will be giving it their all to start the new season off with a win. Despite this looking like an even matchup on paper, the Patriots are heavily favored to win this game.

I've already covered how the Raiders can answer their most looming questions with a win over the Patriots in week one, but how can they go about securing that win? Geno Smith will have to step up and have control over the Raiders' offense all the way through.

Control Over Offense

Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (7) throws a pass against the Cardinals during a preseason game at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Aug. 23, 2025. | Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Pete Prisco is a sports writer for CBS Sports, and he released his week one predictions for the NFL. He believes the Raiders have what it takes to pull off the upset against the Patriots, despite it being a long trip for them.

"This is a long first trip for the Pete Carroll-led Raiders. The Patriots will have Mike Vrabel making his debut as coach as well. The Patriots should be improved this season, but I think Geno Smith will do enough here to pull it out late. Carroll gets more revenge against the team that fired him", said Prisco.

The Raiders caught a massive break against the Patriots as their star defensive player, Christian Gonzalez, won't be available for their season opener. This should make it so that Smith airs the ball out on the Patriots' secondary, especially because that isn't the only injury they're dealing with.

In order for the Raiders to win, Smith will have to show mastery over their offense and utilize his weapons as best as he can. He has an array of players to choose from, even if Amari Cooper isn't an option anymore.

Brock Bowers should attract a lot of attention, but that shouldn't stop Smith from feeding him the ball as much as he can. He can make a man miss once the ball is in his hands, so I expect Carroll and Smith to keep the offense humming by not being in huddles and quick throws to Bowers or another one of their receivers.

The Patriots' secondary is already dealing with problems before the season starts, and the Raiders should take advantage of that by allowing Smith to be a field general and run the offense with tempo.

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