A staggering 55.2 passer rating on deep throws and more interceptions than touchdowns paint a bleak offensive picture for the Raiders.
The Las Vegas Raiders aren’t supposed to have just two wins at this point in the season. The front office made moves in the offseason that were sure to greatly improve the team from last year, trading for quarterback Geno Smith, bringing in a Super Bowl-winning coach in Pete Carroll, and drafting the most talented college running back in recent memory in Ashton Jeanty.
Las Vegas’ offense was supposed to threaten opposing defenses on a weekly basis. Tight end Brock Bowers was coming off a historic rookie season; another weapon for Smith in his first season in the Silver and Black. The reunion of Carroll and Smith, this time in Las Vegas, was supposed to trigger winning ways from the jump, but in reality, 2025 has been a complete disaster for the Raiders.
Despite the several areas on the roster that have been underwhelming, Smith at quarterback has not gone to plan at all. In his newest Bleacher Report article, choosing one statistic that has defined each team’s season thus far, Brad Gagnon perfectly picked a stat that summed up the season for Smith and the Raiders as a whole.
55.2. That’s Smith’s passer rating on throws that traveled at least 15 yards downfield. Unsurprisingly, the 35-year-old ranks dead last among qualified QBs with this woeful number. It signifies the Raiders' inability to make explosive plays that put defenses on their heels. Their lack of success with deep balls has been a large contributor to why the team scores the second-lowest points per game in football.
Smith has also become a turnover machine since joining the Raiders last offseason. He is tied for the most interceptions in the league with 13, compared to just 12 touchdowns. Throwing more interceptions than touchdowns at this point in the season is simply unacceptable.
The Raiders thought they were making a move towards reliability when they traded a third-round pick for Smith, but he’s been anything but reliable. Week after week, it’s the same problems, and Smith tells reporters he needs to do better. Unsurprisingly, evident by their 2-8 record, things don’t change.
Not even a full season into the Geno Smith experience in Las Vegas, it’s more than clear that it is not working out. Unfortunately, Smith will be on the books through 2027, making the situation tricky to manage for the Raiders. Everybody knows they made a mistake in bringing in Smith, but the damage control has yet to be seen. What is for certain, however, is that the Raiders haven’t been the team that they, or football fans, expected them to be.