John Spytek is Las Vegas Raiders’ biggest winner after loss to New York Giants

Mission accomplished for the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 17.

Between putting their best players on injured reserve leading up to the game against the New York Giants and what they showed on the field, it seems pretty clear that the Raiders were more than happy to lose on Sunday. Las Vegas’ tank isn’t quite complete, but the organization took a significant step toward securing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft, leading us into this week’s winners and losers.

WINNER: John Spytek

There’s no question that Spytek’s first year as a general manager has been disappointing. But with one more loss, he’s in a position to control the draft by owning the top selection of every round except for the fifth, while possessing 10 picks in total, per Tankathon. Also, Spytek can get his top choice at quarterback and has ample draft capital to lay the foundation for the organization’s rebuild.

Of course, the question remains of whether he can take advantage of the opportunity. The first time GM hasn’t inspired confidence so far, but he has the perfect opportunity to turn it around in year two.

LOSER: Devin White

White may end up leading the NFL in total tackles this season, but it’s pretty clear that opposing offenses are looking to exploit him in coverage. The Raiders allowed 207 receiving yards to the Giants, and the linebacker was targeted 11 times and surrendered 10 completions for 115 yards or 55.6 percent of Las Vegas’ total, per Pro Football Focus.

Heading into the final week of the regular season, White has been the most-targeted (100) linebacker in the NFL, has allowed the most receptions (81) and has given up the fourth-most receiving yards (648) at the position. Also, he added two more missed tackles on Sunday to bring his total up to 25 on the campaign, the second-most among LBs, per PFF.

WINNER: Michael Mayer

With Brock Bowers out, Mayer ended up having a career day against New York. The third-year tight end led the team with personal highs in receptions (nine) and receiving yards (89), stepping up to provide some semblance of a functional offense for the Silver and Black. It’s been a slow start to the Notre Dame product’s career so far, but this was the type of performance he needed to help build some momentum heading into next season.

LOSER: Geno Smith

To be fair to Geno, he didn’t have much to work with on Sunday after the Raiders shut Bowers down earlier in the week. But it can’t be ignored that he’s likely going to finish the season with the most interceptions (17) in the league, after tossing two against the Giants. Tua Tagovailoa is second with 15 picks, but Tagovailoa was benched about two weeks ago.

Smith’s best chance at not leading the NFL in interceptions is if he sits in Week 18 and Sam Darnold (14) has a disastrous performance against the San Francisco 49ers.

WINNER: Malcolm Koonce

There’s no doubt that it’s been a tough season for Koonce, who hasn’t been the same since tearing an ACL ahead of the 2024 campaign. But he did manage to rack up six out of the Raiders’ 13 pressures, including one of the team’s two sacks, against the Giants, via PFF. Also, the defensive end earned a solid 68.6 PFF run defense grade and recorded a defensive stop against the run.

It might be too little, too late for Koonce when it comes to his future in Las Vegas, but he at least managed to put some good tape out there to earn another opportunity somewhere else.

LOSER: Tyree Wilson

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Wilson had an opportunity to prove himself with Maxx Crosby landing on injured reserve ahead of the game. However, the 2023 seventh overall pick didn’t even record a pressure on 22 pass rushes and posted a 51.9 PFF grade against the run, resulting in a 48.8 mark overall.

Wilson received his second-most snaps of the season and didn’t do much with them. At this point, it wouldn’t be surprising if next week is his last game as a Raider.

WINNER: Darien Porter

Porter had a couple of tough outings heading into the matchup with New York, but he enjoyed a bounce-back performance on Sunday. The rookie was only targeted once and prevented a touchdown by coming up with a pass breakup. He also recorded a defensive stop and was Las Vegas’ highest-graded defender, posting a 75.7 grade that was five points better than anyone else. In several ways, this was a game that the third-round pick needed.

LOSER: Greedy Vance

Vance finally got a bigger opportunity to prove himself against the Giants, recording a season-high 35 defensive snaps. That doubled his snap count for the entire season, but the undrafted free agent didn’t make the most of the extra reps. He was targeted four times and allowed three catches for 30 yards while missing a tackle and drawing a penalty.

The good news is that the USC product should continue to get opportunities during the season finale, giving him a chance for a bounce-back performance.

WINNER: Tonka Hemingway

Hemingway had arguably his best out of the season on Sunday. He led the defense with a career-high 73.9 PFF run defense grade, while collecting a defensive stop in the process. Also, the rookie from South Carolina recorded his second career sack, giving him two in the last four games, and had a batted pass on another pass-rush rep. As is the constant theme at this point in the Raiders’ season, that’s a good launching point heading into 2026 for Hemingway.