November 3, 2026
November 3, 2026
Las Vegas Raiders 2025: Pete Carroll’s One Season in Silver and Black
The Raiders’ 2025 season was supposed to end the drift. A franchise that had gone through coach after coach gave the job to Pete Carroll, paired him with a veteran quarterback, and drafted one of the most explosive running backs in college football. Instead, Las Vegas stumbled to a 3-14 record, scored fewer points than any team in the league, and finished last in the AFC West. The year ended with a stunning kick, a fired head coach, and the first overall pick in the draft.
Owner Mark Davis bet on experience. Antonio Pierce was dismissed after the 2024 campaign, and general manager Tom Telesco followed him out the door. John Spytek, the former Tampa Bay assistant general manager with close ties to minority owner Tom Brady, took over the front office in January. Days later, Carroll signed on as head coach at 73 years old.
Carroll built a staff with a clear identity. Chip Kelly arrived as offensive coordinator, Patrick Graham stayed on to run the defense, and Brennan Carroll took charge of the offensive line. The message was simple. Las Vegas wanted to run the football, protect the quarterback, and win with toughness.
The quarterback search ended in March. The Raiders sent a third-round pick to Seattle for Geno Smith, reuniting him with the coach who revived his career. Gardner Minshew departed in free agency, along with safety Tre’von Moehrig.
Then came the big move on draft night. With the sixth overall pick, Spytek selected Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, a Heisman runner-up who had nearly broken the college rushing record. Alongside All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers and pass rusher Maxx Crosby, Jeanty gave the roster a young core worth building around.
The opener delivered exactly what the new regime had promised. Smith carved up New England for 362 passing yards, and the Raiders held on for a 20-13 victory. It was the franchise’s first win in New England since 1994, and for one week the rebuild looked ahead of schedule.
That optimism unraveled quickly. Smith threw three interceptions in a 20-9 Monday night loss to the Chargers. A week later in Washington, he threw three touchdown passes without a turnover, but the defense collapsed in a 41-24 defeat.
The Week 4 loss to the Bears captured the Raiders’ 2025 season in miniature. Jeanty finally broke loose, piling up 138 rushing yards, a 64-yard touchdown run, and two scoring catches. Las Vegas led 24-19 late before Chicago marched 69 yards for the go-ahead score.
The Raiders still had a chance. They moved to the Chicago 35, but Jeanty was dropped for a loss on third down. Daniel Carlson lined up for a 54-yard attempt with 33 seconds left. Reserve cornerback Josh Blackwell burst off the edge and got a hand on the ball, sealing a 25-24 Bears victory.
The hangover was brutal. Indianapolis routed Las Vegas 40-6, and the Raiders failed to record a sack for the first time in 40 games. A 20-10 win over Tennessee briefly steadied the ship, but Kansas City answered with a 31-0 shutout at Arrowhead. The Raiders entered their bye at 2-5.
The stretch after the bye tested the locker room’s resolve. Against Jacksonville, Smith found Bowers for a 2-yard touchdown in overtime, and Carroll chose to go for the win. The two-point attempt was batted down, and the Jaguars escaped 30-29.
Two days later, the front office signaled a shift in direction. Veteran receiver Jakobi Meyers was traded to Jacksonville for fourth- and sixth-round picks in 2026. That same week, Las Vegas fell 10-7 in Denver on a Thursday night, another game decided by a single possession.
Losses to Dallas and Cleveland followed, and the offense kept sputtering. Hours after the 24-10 defeat to the Browns dropped the Raiders to 2-9, Kelly was fired. Quarterbacks coach Greg Olson took over play-calling for the rest of the year. The change showed how badly the offensive plan had failed.
No change in play-caller could rescue what followed. The Chargers beat Las Vegas 31-14, and Denver completed a season sweep with a 24-17 win in Las Vegas. Then came Philadelphia. The Eagles shut out the Raiders 31-0 and held them to 75 total yards, the franchise’s fewest since 1961. The game lasted just two hours and 31 minutes, the fastest in team history.
A 23-21 loss in Houston proved the team was still fighting, but a 34-10 home defeat to the Giants extended the losing streak to 10 games. Injuries piled up. Bowers and Crosby both finished the year on injured reserve, and Smith was sidelined by an ankle injury entering the finale.
The Raiders’ 2025 season still had flashes of individual brilliance. Jeanty carried a heavy load behind an inconsistent offensive line and still finished with 975 rushing yards. His 1,321 yards from scrimmage broke Josh Jacobs’ franchise rookie record of 1,316. Among Raiders rookies, only Jacobs has run for more yards.
Bowers and Crosby were both named to the Pro Bowl despite missing the end of the season. Bowers remained a matchup nightmare when healthy, and Crosby kept collapsing pockets with his trademark motor. Tyree Wilson also showed growth, saving his best performance for the final week. Season-long numbers for every contributor are available at Pro Football Reference.
The offense, however, was a liability from start to finish. Las Vegas scored just 241 points, the lowest total in the NFL, while allowing 432. The 1-5 division record showed how far the team trailed its AFC West rivals.
The finale offered one last jolt. With Smith out, Kenny Pickett started against Kansas City but was pulled in the second quarter. Aidan O’Connell, back from a broken wrist, came in for his first action of the year. The Raiders’ defense dominated with eight sacks, and Wilson had two of them, along with a safety and two forced fumbles.
Butker’s late field goal gave Kansas City a 12-11 lead with 1:01 remaining. O’Connell hit Michael Mayer for 21 yards to push the Raiders into range. Carlson then drilled a career-long 60-yard field goal with eight seconds left. The 14-12 win over the Chiefs snapped the losing streak and was the Raiders’ first win over Kansas City at Allegiant Stadium.
Carroll did not survive the result. He was fired the following day, making it the third straight season the Raiders dismissed their head coach. Graham later left for Pittsburgh, and almost nothing of the 2025 staff remained.
The silver lining came through the standings. Four teams finished 3-14, but Las Vegas held the worst record on tiebreakers once the Giants beat Dallas in Week 18. That secured the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 draft, the franchise’s first since 2007.
The Raiders’ 2025 season will be remembered as the year an experienced coach could not stop a franchise’s slide. It produced the worst winning percentage in Las Vegas history and a fourth straight year without the playoffs. Yet it also left Jeanty, Bowers, and Crosby as foundation pieces, plus the top pick in the draft. The team’s own season-finale recap captured fans clinging to one final moment of joy. Carlson’s 60-yard kick did not save the year, but it sent Raiders fans into the offseason with something rare in 2025: a reason to believe the next chapter could be different.
7th February, 2017
17th June, 2026
5th March, 2016
29th March, 2016
17th April, 2016
November 3rd, 2026 2
November 3rd, 2026 2
November 2nd, 2026 2
