When the Las Vegas Raiders made Chip Kelly the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the NFL, they didn’t expect to have one of their worst offenses in years. It’s not like Kelly doesn’t have talent to work with.
The team traded for quarterback Geno Smith, who was coming off three really good years with the Seattle Seahawks. He has regressed in a major way. The Raiders used a first-round pick on running back Ashton Jeanty, who is coming off the second-best season for a college football running back ever. He hasn’t done much this year.
That’s not to mention that tight end Brock Bowers is having a down year after setting every rookie tight end record a year ago. Despite these pieces, the Raiders are averaging 15.4 points a game, which is second-worst in the NFL.
The only team scoring fewer points is the Tennessee Titans, which is starting a rookie quarterback and has already fired its head coach. The Raiders’ offensive personnel isn’t perfect, as there are some serious issues on the offensive line, but there’s no denying that Kelly’s playcalling has been subpar. Las Vegas is about to host the Dallas Cowboys, and they have the second-worst scoring defense in the NFL. If the Raiders offense can’t score 25+ points against this defense, it might be time for a change.
Is Kelly Coaching for His Job?
The Raiders don’t want to fire Kelly. If they did, he would’ve been fired after last week’s 10-7 loss to the Denver Broncos. They paid him a lot of money because they think he could be a difference maker as a playcaller. He’s been in college for the last several years, so it’s not a surprise that it’s taking time to adjust to the NFL game.
That said, the Raiders should be much further along at this point. 15.4 points a game for this offense is unacceptable. The Cowboys are allowing 30.8 points a game, so this is the worst defense that Las Vegas has played this year.
Plus, the game is at home. There’s no excuse for the Raiders’ offense not to have a big game. What won’t help Kelly is that this is a Monday Night Football game. Having the offense lay another egg on primetime in back-to-back weeks could spell the end for Kelly.
He doesn’t need the Raiders to win to keep his job, but the offense has to look competent or there’s a good chance he’ll be unemployed very soon.
Smith Looking to Cut It Loose
Kelly’s not the only Raider likely playing for his job. If Smith has another bad outing, there’s a chance he could get benched.
The quarterback has been a huge disappointment for the Raiders this season, but there’s still time to turn things around. He’s hoping to play cleaner football the rest of the way.
“I’ve got to cut it loose, man. Just don’t think too much,” Smith said. “Just go out there and cut it loose, play your game. Protect the football first and foremost. The last eight games of the season, I want to be the best in the league in terms of protecting the football. I mean, that’s really what it is, and then just cut it loose, man. We’ve got to score points. We’ve got to score a lot more points than we have. We’ve got to pick it up.
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