Rookie Ashton Jeanty ignites offense with a career-best performance, but the Raiders still plummet to last place. Future draft pick implications loom large.
The Las Vegas Raiders gave the Houston Texans a run for their money on Sunday, but it still wasn’t enough to come out with the win. A final score of 21-23 meant the 13th loss of the season for the Raiders in 15 games, tied for the worst in all of football.
With this, it comes as no surprise that the Raiders are ranked dead last in Bleacher Report’s Week 17 power rankings. It’s now the third consecutive week that Las Vegas has found itself at the bottom of the rankings.
Week 16 wasn’t all bad for the Raiders, however. It turned out to be one of the best performances for the offense all season long, despite facing the NFL’s best defense. Rookie running back Ashton Jeanty stole the show, tallying 128 rushing yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. He also added one reception for 60 yards and another touchdown on Sunday. Still, Jeanty’s career-game wasn’t enough for the Raiders come out with the win.
It’s probably for the better, however, as the Raiders are in contention for the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s draft. Las Vegas has been eliminated from playing any meaningful football for some time now, and all that matters now is continuing their now nine-game losing streak to give themselves the best chances at securing the top pick.
Clearly, the Raiders, as currently constructed, are nowhere close to being a winning team. Despite bringing in a Super Bowl-winner, Pete Carroll, to take over as head coach and trading for a veteran quarterback in Geno Smith in hopes of being competitive, 2025 has been brutal for the Raiders.
Of course, Smith and Carroll have repeatedly said they are going to try to win each remaining game on the schedule, and that’s because they are both fighting for their jobs. Carroll is looking more and more like a one-and-done coach, and Smith’s likely to be pushed out of the starting spot next year by a rookie quarterback.
Week 16’s loss had to be one of the best-case scenarios for Raiders fans, as they got to watch their rookie have a standout performance while also maintaining their position at the bottom of the standings, further helping the team’s future chances.
Perhaps the biggest game of the season comes next week against the New York Giants, the other 2-13 team. Whoever wins that game will push themselves out of the No. 1 spot in the draft. Raiders fans will be hoping it isn’t them.