In an awful 2025 season, Las Vegas Raiders are not without bright spots

There’s no sugar coating it: The Las Vegas Raiders’ inaugural season of the Pete Carroll and John Spytek era is atrocious.

Normally, a head coach and general manager are given both leeway and a mulligan in Year 1. And this should’ve been the case with Carroll and Spytek in their respective roles as head honcho and GM. But a steadfast Carroll torpedoed that with a boisterous proclamation back in late July which was a paradigm shift for expectations.

“We are going to win a bunch of games,” Carroll said then. “I can’t even imagine anything else. I’ve been winning 10 games a year for 20 years or something. I mean, what are my expectations? We are going to win a bunch, and I don’t care who hears that.

“It ain’t about what anybody hears. It’s about what we do, and so that’s why expectations are really high. The standards need to be so that the expectations can be met. We’ll see what happens.”

Well, we’ve seen alright.

The Silver & Black are 2-11 through 13 games and are currently riding a seven-game plunge. Five of the Raiders’ defeats this season are the double-digit variety. The team’s last victory arrived nearly two months ago — October 12, a 20-10 win over the Tennessee Titans. What’s bewildering beyond the losing skids (four straight after Week 1 and the current seven-game slide) is this is a Las Vegas squad that went on the road in the season opener and beat the New England Patriots 20-13.

Kudos to Carroll for being confident and that Week 1 win made it appear his Raiders could win a bunch of ball games. But looks can be deceiving.

There’s no identity for this rendition of the Raiders. That is, unless you considered dazed and confused one. Carroll and his coaching staff combined with player development and execution has been amiss for much of the 2025 campaign. The dismissals of special teams coordinator Tom McMahon and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly provided talking points but both special teams and offense continue to be a hot mess.

Then there’s much-maligned offensive line coach and run game coordinator Brennan Carroll, the son of the head coach. Was I surprised the elder Carroll filled his staff with his kiddos? No. What did shock me was Carroll not going to the former Raiders coach well — like he did with quarterbacks coach and now interim offensive coordinator Greg Olson — and hire another familiar face in Tom Cable.

That all said, though, the Raiders are not without bright spots even in a lost 2025 campaign.

On Offense

What more needs to be said about tight end Brock Bowers?

The 22-year-old (23 this Saturday) leads the Raiders air attack with 53 receptions for 619 yards and six touchdowns in the 10 games he’s played (six starts). All this while his effectiveness and production was dampened by a knee injury.

Through 13 games in his rookie seasons (interestingly enough, the 2024 and 2025 Raiders sport twin 2-11 records at this juncture) Bowers racked up 87 receptions for 933 yards and four touchdowns and totaled 112 catches for 1,194 yards, and five touchdowns by season’s end. But in 2025, on a Las Vegas offense ranked dead last in the league with 196 total points (15.1 points per game average), Bowers has topped his touchdown total from Year 1 and the team still has four games left.

Getting to see Bowers sometime play with a stable and productive quarterback situation in Las Vegas should be a sight to behold.

I expect chuckles from this one — especially since Las Vegas boasts the worst ground game in the NFL — rookie running back Ashton Jeanty is a bright spot. While his production (or lack thereof) is highly dependent on the offensive line in front of him, the 22-year-old has 191 carries for 665 yards and four touchdowns rushing and 45 receptions for 259 yards and another four touchdowns receiving.

While that’s not eye-popping and explosive production you’d expect from a sixth-overall pick in the NFL Draft, for a Raiders offense that’s beleaguered by the trench work, it’s impressive Jeanty has that many yards and end zone visits.

Speaking of the trenches, third-round pick Caleb Rogers started at guard in the loss to the Denver Broncos last Sunday and played well. Let’s see how second-round pick Jack Bech (six receptions for 50 yards against Denver) continues to progress and if third-round pick Charles Grant can get into the mix at left tackle.

On Defense

With a team-leading nine sacks and 25 tackles for loss, Maxx Crosby continues to be the heart (and arguably face) of the Raiders. The 28-year-old defensive end showcases uncanny stamina having played 100 percent of the defensive snaps in the last three games and his total on the year of not missing a snap is at six.

In the secondary, Kyu Blu Kelly went from camp fodder to starter and while he did get beat (frequently even) to the tune of 460 yards and four touchdowns in coverage according to Pro Football Reference, the 24-year-old cornerback leads the team with three interceptions and is charted for only three missed tackles.

Third-round pick Darien Porter continues to make series as a six-game starter (he’s played in all 13 games) allowing 16 completions on 24 targets (66.7 percent rate) for 160 yards and no touchdowns. With Kelly out for the year due to an injury he suffered last Sunday, expect Porter to continue to get starting snaps.

Here’s a reminder though: Be wary of stat hounds. Namely linebacker Devin White who paces the Raiders defense with 133 total tackles to go along with a sack, interception and forced fumble. White is new-age Kirk Morrison in that he racks up tackles but rarely keeps the play in front of him and is in chase-and-tackle mode. White also leads the team with 18 missed tackles, according to Pro Football Reference.

Tank You Very Much?

Draft position/draft order is the biggest carrot in front of the Raiders for some and at 2-11 with only four games, it’ll be interesting to see how the top of the 2026 draft shapes up.

Las Vegas is in dire need of a franchise quarterback and Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza is an appealing option. Then there’s also Oregon’s Dante Moore and Alabama’s Ty Simpson. But there are four games left to play, alongside declarations from prospects to enter the draft, so things can alter — drastically even if the Raiders win another game.

While the first-round selection being a Top 3 pick draws immediate attention, the Raiders currently have eight — one for every round except the fifth (traded to acquire quarterback Kenny Pickett from the Cleveland Browns). The team does have two picks in the fourth and sixth rounds and could get more via compensatory formulas.

Thus, that’s a good number of draft capital general manager John Spytek can use to build the roster for Carroll (if that’s the head coach/GM combo for Las Vegas in 2026).