It doesn’t appear that Geno Smith is the savior at quarterback that many Las Vegas Raiders fans were hoping he’d be. After a solid performance in Week 1 against the New England Patriots, Smith took a major step back in Week 2.
The veteran had one of the worst performances for any quarterback this season against the Los Angeles Chargers. He completed 24-of-43 passes for 180 yards and three interceptions.
He was absolutely dreadful all game and didn’t complete a pass that had more than 10 air yards on it. The Chargers have a very strong defense, but Smith was making poor decisions all night.
It can’t feel good knowing that Tom Brady was in the booth watching the game. That wasn’t a great way to leave a first impression on the minority owner and legendary quarterback. Needless to say, fans on social media went after Smith for his awful performance.
The Raiders were still in the game until the end, but Smith couldn’t get anything going.
The Raiders paid Smith a lot of money this offseason, so it’s a serious problem if he’s going to play this poorly
Needless to say, Smith is going to have to do a lot to regain the trust of fans.
Where Do Raiders Go From Here?
The Raiders have had some bad quarterback games over the years, but Smith’s performance against the Chargers has to be up there. It’s hard to imagine a quarterback making nearly $40 million a year playing much worse.
This has to be very concerning for Las Vegas. Smith has had a solid few years, but there’s a reason he spent most of his career as a backup. He obviously has the trust of head coach Pete Carroll, but that will only take him so far.
Smith is allowed to have one bad game, but he’s going to have to get better quickly. If not, it won’t take long for the fans to start chanting Kenny Pickett’s name.
John Spytek Explained Why Raiders Wanted Smith Before Game
The Raiders had a lot of confidence in Smith heading into this season. Prior to Monday night’s loss, general manager John Spytek explained why the team ultimately went after the veteran quarterback in the offseason.
“Pete knew everything there was to know about him, and he had played his best football for Pete,” Spytek told The Athletic. “And so when we talked about what we wanted … you listen to (Pete) talk (about Smith) and ‘he’s got this trait and this trait and this trait,’ and that’s all the stuff we’re looking for. That allowed me to ask questions. What about this? ‘Yup. Yup. Yup.’ …
“Pete had a front-row seat to that. When I’ve manifested in my head what I’ve wanted in a quarterback … it was a lot of the same stuff that Pete could confirm that Geno had. And ultimately it just felt like he was the right guy for us right now, to be the kind of football team we want to be. People can say what they want about adversity, stuff like that. My journey has been that those guys who have been through it and know they’re gonna be OK — myself included — there’s so much value in that. They’ll inspire other people, too.”
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