The Las Vegas Raiders are now 1-3 on the 2025 season, a far cry from where fans hoped to be after the team made big splashes in the offseason. Quarterback Geno Smith isn’t blameless for the Raiders’ slow start in 2025, and Bleacher Report graded his Week 4 performance as an 'F'.
The 34-year-old threw three interceptions for the second time this season on Sunday against the Chicago Bears. Smith totaled just 117 passing yards in the team’s Week 4 loss, in which they held a 21-16 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
After the poor performance in the loss, it’s no wonder that Smith was given an 'F' grade for Week 4. Simply put, Smith hasn’t produced to the level that Raiders fans were expecting from their new quarterback, who they traded a third-round pick for back in March.
“Earlier, the conversation centered on how Geno Smith's counterpart, Caleb Williams, rose to the occasion during Sunday's contest. The Las Vegas Raiders quarterback suffered the opposite fate,” Brent Sobleski wrote in the Bleacher Report article. “By not taking care of the ball, Smith allowed the Bears to stay in and ultimately win the contest.”
Smith now leads the NFL in interceptions with seven through four weeks. He has thrown for just six touchdowns in comparison. Smith ranks 25th in the NFL in QBR and 27th in passer rating.
When asked how he can lead a more efficient offense in the coming weeks, Smith put it bluntly.
“Number one, take care of the ball. Not throw interceptions,” Smith said postgame. “I owe it to my teammates to go out there and play better… Guys deserved to get this win, and I let those guys down. There’s a lot of things I’m going to have to fix within myself. That’s the reality.”
Head coach Pete Carroll also chimed in on the difficulty of winning football games when the ball continues to be turned over.
“You can’t expect to turn the ball over like that and win – it doesn’t happen,” Carroll said. “We learn, we grow, and we have to do better.”
The good news for Smith and the Raiders is that you can’t get worse than an 'F' grade. Smith will look to have a bounce-back performance and boost his report card grade in the Raiders' Week 5 matchup against the 3-1 Indianapolis Colts. Kick off is set for 1 p.m. EST on Sunday.