The Hail Mary the Raiders Threw With Geno Smith vs. Cowboys

LAS VEGAS, Nev.-- The Las Vegas Raiders' offense has struggled all season. It continued on Monday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys. For another week, the Raiders' offense sputtered while their defense did all they could to keep the team in the game. Another week, another failure.

Watch Smith discuss below

Raiders' Questionable Playcalling

Las Vegas made changes, did their best to adjust and execute, but it simply was not enough. Las Vegas' offense moved the ball and held onto the ball long enough to not lose the time of possession as badly as other games this season. Still, the inability to score points doomed the Raiders.

Las Vegas Raiders Geno Smith | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

The Raiders' offense showed no intentions of running the ball, as they ran the ball four times the entire first half. Raiders quarterback Geno Smith threw the ball nearly 30 times in the first half against the Cowboys.

He threw the ball 39 times against the Jacksonville Jaguars, a game that went to overtime.

Smith threw another interception off a tipped pass. The Raiders were marching in to make it a one score game when Smith's interception all but put the game even more out of reach than it already was. It would be fair to say this interception was not on Smith, but it was still costly.

Raiders Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly's lack of confidence in the Raiders' ground game and their offensive line was evident in his decision to not run the ball. According to ESPN Insights, the Raiders' designed pass percentage in the first half was the highest in a game in the entire league this season.

Las Vegas passed the ball as much as they could, as if they do not have a quarterback tied for the most interceptions of any quarterback in the league this season. The Raiders' offense lacks the depth on the offensive line to overcome the injuries the unit has suffered.

Arguably a bigger issue for the Raiders is the fact that their starting offensive line was not that good, either. Reserve players behind a shaky starting unit is bound to be worse than that original unit and that has been the case for Las Vegas this season. The Raiders' offense was again anemic on Monday.

The combination of Smith and Kelly have led the Raiders nowhere. That has been largely because of injuries to their offensive line. However, the playcalling and execution has been subpar, which normally points to coaching.

Las Vegas Raiders QB Geno Smith | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Las Vegas has the highest paid offensive coordinator in the league and used the No. 6 pick on running back Ashton Jeanty, only for them to routinely not get Jeanty involved. Jeanty entered the fourth quarter against the Cowboys with only four carries on the day.

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