The Las Vegas Raiders had another rough night. They lost 33 to 16 to the Dallas Cowboys, and it felt like one more hit in what has been one of their most disappointing seasons in years. The offense looked flat from start to finish. Geno Smith and the group managed only one touchdown drive and just two hundred thirty six total yards. This was especially tough because the Cowboys defense has been one of the weakest units in the league this season. Yet the Raiders still couldn’t take advantage.
After the game Geno Smith was clearly tired of hearing the same criticism over and over again. In his press conference he opened up about how much the outside talk has been bothering him. He said there are a lot of “Monday morning quarterbacks” who freeze frames on film, circle open receivers and act like the job is easy. He said people love pointing out what he missed. Geno took all the blame on himself anyway. He said if anything looks wrong, blame him. If the offense looks off, blame him. He even joked that if a kid messes up in school or a car breaks down, blame him too. It was his way of showing how heavy the criticism feels right now.
You can tell he is frustrated. And while Geno definitely hasn’t played at the level people hoped for, the loss was not only on him. He was not the one letting Dak Prescott throw four touchdowns. He was not the one trying to cover George Pickens, who tore up the Raiders defense for one hundred forty four yards and looked unstoppable all night.
The Raiders are now two and eight. That record alone says a lot. This kind of season usually leads to changes, and big ones. It would not be surprising if the team makes coaching changes again. Some people are even wondering if Pete Carroll might end up being a one year head coach. Others think the offensive and defensive staffs could see huge shake ups. And of course the roster itself will likely look very different by the time the twenty twenty six season begins.
Right now the team is in a low place. The frustration is building. And everyone knows things cannot stay the same for much longer.