The Direction the Raiders Are Clearly Heading In

The Las Vegas Raiders have nowhere to go with a record of 2 - 7. How did they get here, and what can they do to crawl back into good standing?

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

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.

Week 11 Power Rankings

Nov 6, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (7) reacts during the first half at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

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.

Nov 2, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; The Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen and the Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll meet after the win against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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".

Sep 21, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) warms up before the game against the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

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.

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