The Las Vegas Raiders enter their bye week with a 2-5 record following a crushing Week 7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Looking back, the decision to roll with Geno Smith has been underwhelming, to put it mildly.
Las Vegas are the fourth-worst pass offense in the NFL, with only the Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, and Tennessee Titans having a more terrible air attack than the Raiders.
Along with the terrible air offense, Smith has recorded 10 interceptions and only seven passing touchdowns. While all the anger appears to be heading toward the veteran signal caller, Mike Florio and Chris Simms are focusing on offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.
“I think Chip Kelly is probably the first guy they’re looking at and go, ‘I don’t know if we should have done that,’” Simms said on the October 20 edition of “Pro Football Talk.” “He looks like he’s in over his head as far as an offensive coordinator.”
“His offense is too simple. It’s too easy to figure out. For a guy like [Steve Spagnuolo], he was like, ‘What is this? This is kindergarten stuff for me. I got it.’ And I think that’s where you [have] to give Geno the benefit of the doubt.”
Raiders’ Ashton Jeanty Talks Improving
After Las Vegas struggled against the Chiefs, Jeanty spoke to the media and shared his candid thoughts on the team’s performance. He didn’t throw Kelly or the game plan under the bus and only stressed the need for this squad to improve.
“Just a terrible performance by us as a team,” Jeanty said postgame on October 19. “Couldn’t stop them on defense and offense. We couldn’t get going at all. So, you’re going to lose a lot of football games like that…
“We just got to be better. I mean, simple as that. We got to go back, watch the film, can’t point the finger, can’t point a finger at coaches for the scheme or another player for making a mistake. We got to look inward and see how each and every single one of us can get better to make sure that never happens again.”
How Are the Raiders Feeling Heading into the Bye Week
After starting the season with a win, the Raiders stumbled through four consecutive losses. A bounce-back victory against the Titans in Week 6 offered a brief reprieve, but Las Vegas has now slipped back into defeat heading into their bye week, leaving more questions than answers.
Jeanty weighed in on whether this is ultimately positive or negative, given that the team will have extra time to reflect on this latest performance.
“I mean, a bye is good either way,” Jeanty added. “Just kind of let guys refresh, let their bodies heal a little bit. Regardless of whether we win or lose, a bye would be good for us. But once again, whether it’s a bye or not, we’ve got to get back to work and figure out how to get better.”
As the NFL trade deadline approaches, all eyes will be on which players the Raiders decide to move in exchange for draft capital. Coming off their bye week, the Silver and Black need to focus on developing young talents like Jeanty, especially since the 2025 season is already considered a lost cause. Building for 2026 has to be the priority.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Raiders Receive Clear Words on Chip Kelly After Losing to Chiefs appeared first on Heavy Sports.