Silver And Black Pride
Mission accomplished for the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 17.
Between putting their best players on injured reserve leading up to the game against the New York Giants and what they showed on the field, it seems pretty clear that the Raiders were more than happy to lose on Sunday. Las Vegas’ tank isn’t quite complete, but the organization took a significant step toward securing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft, leading us into this week’s winners and losers.
There’s no question that Spytek’s first year as a general manager has been disappointing. But with one more loss, he’s in a position to control the draft by owning the top selection of every round except for the fifth, while possessing 10 picks in total, per Tankathon. Also, Spytek can get his top choice at quarterback and has ample draft capital to lay the foundation for the organization’s rebuild.
Of course, the question remains of whether he can take advantage of the opportunity. The first time GM hasn’t inspired confidence so far, but he has the perfect opportunity to turn it around in year two.
White may end up leading the NFL in total tackles this season, but it’s pretty clear that opposing offenses are looking to exploit him in coverage. The Raiders allowed 207 receiving yards to the Giants, and the linebacker was targeted 11 times and surrendered 10 completions for 115 yards or 55.6 percent of Las Vegas’ total, per Pro Football Focus.
Heading into the final week of the regular season, White has been the most-targeted (100) linebacker in the NFL, has allowed the most receptions (81) and has given up the fourth-most receiving yards (648) at the position. Also, he added two more missed tackles on Sunday to bring his total up to 25 on the campaign, the second-most among LBs, per PFF.
With Brock Bowers out, Mayer ended up having a career day against New York. The third-year tight end led the team with personal highs in receptions (nine) and receiving yards (89), stepping up to provide some semblance of a functional offense for the Silver and Black. It’s been a slow start to the Notre Dame product’s career so far, but this was the type of performance he needed to help build some momentum heading into next season.
To be fair to Geno, he didn’t have much to work with on Sunday after the Raiders shut Bowers down earlier in the week. But it can’t be ignored that he’s likely going to finish the season with the most interceptions (17) in the league, after tossing two against the Giants. Tua Tagovailoa is second with 15 picks, but Tagovailoa was benched about two weeks ago.
Smith’s best chance at not leading the NFL in interceptions is if he sits in Week 18 and Sam Darnold (14) has a disastrous performance against the San Francisco 49ers.
**WINNER:...
