The Las Vegas Raiders have had plenty of issues, both on and off the field, to begin the 2025 NFL season. Their offensive struggles have been a major catalyst for their 1-4 start, as the unit, which many expected to be the strength of the team, has failed to get anything going.
There has been plenty of blame to go around, as the offensive line struggled early on, Geno Smith has seemingly regressed significantly, and the play-calling from Chip Kelly has been questionable at times. That doesn't excuse Pete Carroll seemingly throwing his offensive coordinator under the bus, as he suggested that Kelly has not put Smith in the best position to succeed.
The head coach said that the Raiders, who rank 19th in carries and 16th in pass attempts, should run the ball more often. While fans would hardly disagree with that assessment due to how poorly Smith has played, it was shocking to see the head coach, once again, absolve the NFL's league leader in interceptions of any blame.
Chip Kelly responds to Pete Carroll's criticism of Raiders' offensive game plan
It is rather obvious that the Raiders have failed to establish an offensive identity through the first five weeks of the season. However, after Carroll essentially suggested that it was due to the play calling and not running the ball well, Kelly fired back at his remarks during Thursday's press conference.
"I mean, that's what our game plan is every game, and unless you get into, you know, we talked about it in the Chargers game -- when you get in the second half, that skews. But we had 25 attempts last week in the game," Kelly said. "There was real balance in the first half of the football game when it was a close game, I think. It gets out of hand, so when you look at some of the numbers, I think we had 25 rushing attempts and 36 passing attempts at the end of the day. But, in the first half, it was really even."
While Kelly did not come right out and criticze Carroll, he got defensive and essentially debunked what the veteran coach said. Kelly was put in a weird position with this question, and while he answered in the best way he could, something just felt awkward.
Kelly's play-calling, particularly in the red zone, however, has been a contributing factor to the Raiders' offensive struggles, as they are averaging just 16.6 points per game. On the opening drive in Week 5, the offense drove the ball all the way downfield to set up a first-and-goal from the eight-yard line.
RELATED: Raiders crack a smile as Chargers trade away Geno Smith's kryptonite
After a first down run picked up five yards, Kelly called for a pass play that resulted in an 11-yard sack, virtually ending any chance Las Vegas had at picking up six points. While Smith deserves some blame for not throwing the ball to a wide-open Ian Thomas, Ashton Jeanty had been moving the ball on the drive, picking up 51 yards from scrimmage.
He should have been given an opportunity to run it in from the three-yard line, but Kelly thought that he knew better and put the ball in Smith's hands, only for him to make another key mistake. The Raiders settled for a field goal and did not score again until the game was out of hand.
Smith, however, has clearly been the biggest issue with the offense, as he has already thrown nine interceptions through five games. Far too often, the 13-year veteran quarterback has missed wide-open pass catchers or forced throws into double coverage, trying to make a play.
Kelly definitely has room to improve, but he has taken a step in the right direction by getting the running game going over the past two weeks. Carroll does not seem appreciative or really aware of that, so Kelly had to set the record straight.