If you’ve been following the Raiders for the last 25 years, you would know better than anyone that there’s a point in each season where even the faintest bit of remaining hope is discarded.
That moment for the 2025-26 season occurred midway through the second quarter of the Raiders’ demoralizing 31-0 loss against the host Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, when Max Crosby left the game and did not return after being taken out on an undercut block by Chiefs tight end Noah Gray.
The Chiefs promptly extended an already daunting two-touchdown lead into a three-touchdown lead shortly after, bringing a 21-0 advantage into the locker room and all but pushing the Raiders to a 2-5 record before Pete Carroll could even get to his halftime speech. The second half didn’t bring much encouragement, as Crosby didn’t return and the Raiders didn’t score.
Sunday’s 31-point loss comes just two weeks after suffering a 32-point loss to the Indianapolis Colts in another road embarrassment. Throw in a 41-21 loss at Washington in late September, where the Raiders scored two garbage time touchdowns, and the Silver and Black have been outscored a staggering 112-27 in their last three road games since beating the New England Patriots in Foxboro to open the season.
If anyone was expecting Pete Carroll to play the role of miracle worker like he did at USC and Seattle in the past, those pipe dreams are long gone. For all the talk this offseason that the culture had improved under Carroll and GM Jon Spytek, a direct appointee of minority owner Tom Brady, the results on the field through seven weeks have been as bad, if not worse, than the product that Antonio Pierce and company put on the field last season.
A significant amount of the Raiders’ issues have come from their struggles at the quarterback position, an issue that defined the team last season and has only gotten worse with Geno Smith at the helm. It’s become increasingly clear that bringing Smith along from Seattle was a costly mistake by Carroll, as the NFL’s interception leader was held to just 67 total passing yards on 17 attempts on Sunday (albeit without a turnover).
For all the blame you could rightfully assign for allowing 40+ points twice in the first seven weeks of the season, the onus goes right back to Smith’s inability to keep his defense off the field. That wear and tear is evident in Crosby’s second-half absence, as lingering back and a preeminent knee contributed to the decision to hold him out after halftime.
The bye week couldn’t be coming at a better time for the Raiders. They’ll come back from a one-week refresh with a home date against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 2, though coach Liam Coen’s group is sure to be motivated following a 35-7 shellacking at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams in London on Sunday morning.
