The Las Vegas Raiders played another game yesterday, dropping a 24-17 decision to the Denver Broncos in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicated. That in itself represents some minor good news given how much bad football the fan base has been forced to watch this year.
But quarterback Geno Smith’s right shoulder injury added a new dimension to the misery. It happened in the third quarter, and virtually everyone who’s watched the Raiders this season knew it was only a matter of time before something serious happened to Smith--except for coach Pete Carroll, of course.
Carroll said Smith’s shoulder “locked up” after the veteran quarterback completed a 3-yard pass to tight end Brock Bowers to close out the third quarter, according to a piece written by Ryan McFadden of ESPN. Smith went to the locker room, and backup quarterback Kenny Pickett played the entire fourth quarter, completing 8-of-11 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown.
The Raiders got seriously lucky here. Carroll indicated that an early test showed that Smith avoided major damage, and Carroll indicated that his battered and bruised quarterback will be back on the field next week against the Philadelphia Eagles if he’s healthy.
"I'm going to do what I think is the right thing to do, and if Geno can play, that's my thought," Carroll said. " ... I'm rooting for Geno to get back out there and see how he does. But we're not going to play him if he's not right, so Kenny will be ready to go."
This is nonsense, and hopefully Carroll knows it. He’s still living in his “Positive Pete” bubble, which conveniently has no awareness of the fact that an injury to Smith could activate an automatic payment that would make the quarterback that much harder to unload if the Raiders decide to go in that direction.
Smith also sustained a cut on his right hand after getting hit by Denver defensive end Zach Allen and linebacker Nik Bonitto earlier in the quarter, so he had yet another tough day. Carroll also talked up Pickett after the game, conveniently ignoring the fact that Pickett’s gaudy-looking stats were mostly a product of garbage-time football with the game mostly decided.
It feels ridiculous that Carroll is still coaching these games as if they matter, but evidently that’s how the Raiders are going to roll for the last four games. The only source of drama left in the Raiders’ season is their upcoming home game against the New York Giants, which will be an epic battle for the bottom and draft position that will matter far more in the long run than any quarterback decision this year.