The Las Vegas Raiders fell to 2-9 after a 24-10 defeat to the Cleveland Browns in Week 12, with the offense struggling once again to find any rhythm. This season, the unit has consistently underperformed, ranking near the bottom of the league in scoring.
In five of their last seven games, Las Vegas has failed to reach 20 points, leading to a five-game losing streak. Amid ongoing offensive issues, the Raiders announced on November 23 that they had parted ways with offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.
Since Kelly’s departure, reports have begun surfacing highlighting the disorganized play-calling that plagued the Raiders’ offense.
On November 29, NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported, citing sources, that those who analyzed the offense and those who prepared game plans against it this season feel Kelly wasn’t really running his own system.
Moreover, Rapoport’s information reveals that the approach was completely different from anything he had run before.
“Defensive coordinators likened the Raiders offense this season more to Shane Waldron’s offense with the Seahawks in 2023, Carroll’s last year with Seattle,” Rapoport wrote. “Kelly’s trademark creative runs out of shotgun had been dramatically limited.
“Instead, the blend of Seattle and Las Vegas schemes tilted far more toward the under-center zone scheme Carroll favors. One previous opponent even had their scout team prepare cards based on Seattle plays of the past under Carroll, sources say.”
Raiders Have More Leaks Over Offensive Issues
This report from Rapoport follows NFL insider Tom Pelissero’s recent anecdotes from Kelly’s time as offensive coordinator with the Silver and Black, highlighting several 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.”
Las Vegas Had Many Issues on Offense
Pelissero told Eisen that Kelly messing up a play was just one example of the offense’s broader struggles.
“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.”
In what would be Kelly’s last game with the Raiders, Las Vegas leaned heavily on the passing game. Smith went 30-of-44 for 285 yards and a touchdown against the Browns. But that approach came with a price: the offensive line gave up 10 sacks.
Even with Smith airing it out, the Raiders managed just 10 points, extending their losing streak to five games. Now, Las Vegas counts on Greg Olson to lead its offense from Week 13 to the end of the season. Olson will be the interim offensive coordinator, with his first game being the contest against the Los Angeles Chargers.
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