Silver And Black Pride
At 1-3 after the first month of the season, the Las Vegas Raiders are searching for answers. The offensive line played much better against the Chicago Bears, allowing zero sacks and paving the way for Ashton Jeanty’s breakout performance last Sunday. However, that wasn’t enough to overcome Geno Smith’s second three-interception performance, as quarterback play is the primary topic of discussion for the Raiders in the Week 5 NFL Power Rankings roundup.
28. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 26
Even with Ashton Jeanty’s breakout game, Las Vegas came up short again. The blocked field goal at game’s end was the exclamation point for the Bears, but the Raiders coughed away plenty of chances before that. Geno Smith has largely struggled, throwing another three picks to bring his season total to an NFL-worst seven, and he couldn’t deliver in crunch time. Jeanty ran for 138 yards and a TD and caught two scoring passes, but he also has struggled in short-yardage situations, fumbling on fourth down in the first half and getting stuffed before the late FG try. The Raiders still must go on the road to face the Colts and Chiefs before the Week 8 bye, with a lot to clean up. — Eric Edholm
To put Smith’s picks into comparison, he’s about halfway to his season total in 2024 (15), and he only had four at this point a year ago. He’s currently on pace to have a similar interception total to his rookie season, when he threw a career high 21 interceptions and had eight in the first four games.
As for Jeanty, Edholm’s knocks on the rookie are missing some context. Yes, he needs to hold onto the ball and avoid the fumble, but both of the short-yardage runs mentioned above had an unblocked defender in the backfield.
25. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 22
Biggest issue on offense: Geno Smith’s interceptions
Smith has thrown three interceptions in a game twice this season, including this past Sunday. The Raiders finally got the ground game going with rookie running back Ashton Jeanty, but Smith’s turnovers cost them in the end. He has totaled seven picks already this season after finishing with 15 (third most in the league) in all of 2024 with the Seahawks.. “We lost our chances to score when the offense was out there, more so than what [the Bears] did with it when they took it away from us,” coach Pete Carroll said. — Ryan McFadden
The analysis of his turnovers costing the Raiders this season is spot on. It’s hard to win when the quarterback turns the ball over three times, and that’s happened twice in four games. Clearly, the team needs more stability from the most important position on the field moving forward.
25. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 23
Last week, the Las Vegas Raiders lost thanks to...
