Inside the Raiders' Ongoing Search for a New Team Identity

The Las Vegas Raiders entered the season primed to establish a new identity under Pete Carroll. After three games, it is clear the Raiders are still searching for that identity.

Sep 21, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll stands on the sidelines against the Washington Commanders during the third quarter at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders are three games into a 17-game season and are already on an all-too-familiar path.

Plenty of Blame to Go Around

The Raiders' loss to the Commanders was a game filled with mistakes by the Raiders. Las Vegas entered their Week 3 matchup aiming to prove they are more of the team that won in Week 1 than the team that slept walk through Week 2. Sunday's loss proved they are closer to the latter.

Las Vegas struggled in every aspect of the game, leading to another loss for the Silver and Black. Following the loss, Pete Carroll shared his thoughts.

"Well, this looks like a real miss from bouncing back [after the game against the Los Angeles Chargers] for this ballgame. We did the things we thought we needed to do to get right, but we didn't play well in the first half at all. You can see it across the board. Teams in offense and defense, we weren't physically back as much as they were,” Carroll said.

“So I have to do a better job. It's all three phases, so it's me. So, I've got to do a better job making sure I manage our return. So that when we get on the field, we're ready to go. The guys are trying, but it just didn't quite happen like it had before. So it's there for us, and our guys know that. We stayed with it. We kept hanging. We kept trying to find a way, and the belief was ongoing.”

The Raiders' loss to the Commanders was a total team effort. The Raiders have struggled over the past few seasons, but those struggles were usually specific to one side of the ball or the other. On Sunday, the Raiders failed in all three phases of the game.

Although Carroll graciously took responsibility for the loss, Raiders quarterback Geno Smith refused to let Carroll shoulder the blame by himself.

“No, I'll take the blame for it. Coach [Head Coach Pete Carroll] was not out there playing. He didn't make any plays out there. I was out there, quarterbacking and I could have done a better job to extend some drives, make some better plays, better checks so that we can go out there and we can win the game,” Smith said.

“We didn't put up enough points, that's the reality. As an offense, we have got to be able to go out there and score. Just about every time we touch it, that's got to be our mindset. I didn't do enough today, I didn't get us there, and you can put it on me, not coach.”

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