Explaining 1 Questionable Move Made by the Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders have made several questionable moves.

Oct 19, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll looks on during the second quarter of the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Struggling to stop Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is something few teams in the National Football League can do. Usually, it takes one of the better rosters in the league to be able to do so. The Las Vegas Raiders do not have such a roster.

The Raiders Did All They Could

Las Vegas' defense was quickly outmatched by a Chiefs offense that was constantly on the field after the Raiders' offense repeatedly and quickly went three and out. However, the Raiders' defense seemingly decided against pressuring Mahomes for most of the game.

Historically, pressuring Mahomes is one of the ways to beat the Chiefs. Monday after the Raiders' blowout loss to the Chiefs, Raiders Head Coach Pete Carroll explained why the Raiders decided against pressuring Mahomes on Sunday.

“Because he's (Patrick Mahomes) really good against the blitz. His numbers are phenomenal against blitz, for one. We did pressure him some. We did mix our coverages to try to do stuff. We did play two high and three deep stuff. We did all of that. Unfortunately, a couple things that we forced him to do, he still got us," Carroll said.

"And we got him to move a little bit like we wanted him to, and then he made a big play with Travis [Kelce] coming across that we should have played way better. But he's a really, really big-time player,” Carroll said.

The Raiders' defense could have played better. However, Mahomes has the ability to beat good defenses, too. Carroll gave credit where it was due when speaking about Mahomes.

“That's not saying anything you don't know, but the subtleties of the things that he does when he plays are phenomenal. And he had a half dozen plays in that game, but you might not even see what he did, but he looked off coverage, he set up coverage to get the throws he wanted to make," Carroll said.

Las Vegas Raiders Pete Carroll | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

"He knew exactly where he was going with the football, he scrambled exactly the way he has done that we've tried to corral him thinking that we could and he still got out. He's a phenomenal football player, and he showed us again. Unfortunately, we were trying to neutralize that factor, but he was there."

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