The Las Vegas Raiders dropped to 2-9 after a 24-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 12, with their offense once again unable to find a rhythm. This season, the unit has struggled consistently, ranking among the league’s lowest in scoring.
In five of their last seven games, Las Vegas failed to reach 20 points, fueling a five-game losing streak. Following the continued offensive struggles, the Raiders announced on November 23 that they had parted ways with offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.
“I spoke with Chip Kelly earlier this evening and informed him of his release as offensive coordinator of the Raiders,” Carroll said in the statement. “I would like to thank Chip for his service and wish him all the best in the future.”
A few days after Kelly’s firing, NFL insider Tom Pelissero is revealing stories from the coach’s tenure as offensive coordinator with the Silver and Black, and there were plenty of head-scratching moments.
“It just seemed like from Week 2 on, teams just kind of caught up with what the Raiders were doing,” Pelissero said on the November 26 edition of “The Rich Eisen Show.” “And there are all kinds of different stories, Rich, about the dysfunction of the Raiders offense.
“There were times I was told where Chip Kelly was repeatedly botching the play calls. For instance, tagging a motion on a play—so the receivers are on the left, not the right—and he forgets to say it. Geno Smith goes to the line of scrimmage thinking, ‘This doesn’t look right,’ while they’re trying to run the play. It even happened on a third down in the game the other day.”
The Raiders’ Offense Was Dysfunctional Under Chip Kelly
Kelly botching a play wasn’t the only story that Pelissero shared with Eisen to highlight how dysfunctional the offense was.
“On several occasions, I was told Chip called a play that was either not in the game plan or not installed at all,” Pelissero added. “Things like that happened. You’re not productive. That’s enough—you didn’t need any extra excuses. But a lot of issues were popping up within games that a good team simply cannot overcome. They didn’t have enough talent.”
Chip Kelly Broke His Silence After Firing
On the day of his firing, FOX Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer spoke with Kelly and relayed the coach’s reaction to the Raiders’ decision to make a change.
“I am grateful for the opportunity with the Raiders, bottom line in this league you have to win,” Kelly said on November 23, per Glazer. “I really loved those players, I’m a huge, HUGE Geno Smith fan, that was one of the best parts of this experience for me, working with Geno and those guys every day. But hey, we gotta win. I get it.”
In Kelly’s final game with the Raiders, Las Vegas went pass-heavy, as Smith completed 30 of 44 passes for 285 yards and one touchdown against the Browns. Nonetheless, that decision from Kelly came at a cost: The offensive line allowed 10 sacks.
Moreover, Smith’s drop-back passes didn’t result in more points, as the Raiders scored only 10, leading to their fifth straight loss for the Silver and Black.
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