The Las Vegas Raiders' offensive line has struggled in the early part of the 2025 NFL season. Their protection of quarterback Geno Smith has been inconsistent, at best, and they have paved very few lanes for rookie running back Ashton Jeanty to do what he has done best.
Fans became concerned about the offensive line as early as the offseason, when John Spytek brought in Alex Cappa to compete for a starting spot. Then, Pete Carroll completely flipped around the interior offensive line and has everyone playing out of the positions where they thrive most.
This has culminated in several uninspiring efforts through the first three weeks of the season, and Raider Nation is starting to get impatient with the coaching staff's decision-making in this realm. The coaching staff, however, doesn't seem to be feeling the pressure.
Chip Kelly isn't ready to admit the Raiders' offensive line is an issue
Chip Kelly spoke to the media on Thursday ahead of Week 4's game against the Chicago Bears and was asked a multitude of questions about the offensive line. It started with being asked about why Jordan Meredith beat out Jackson Powers-Johnson for the starting center job in the first place.
"Jordan did a better job in preseason camp of playing center for us, in terms of what we want call-wise, putting us in the right protections and doing all those things," Kelly said. "Jordan's what you're looking for in a center in this league. ... We're really excited about what Jordan is doing at center."
Well, that is a pretty cut-and-dry answer. Perhaps the fan base needs to be a bit more patient with all the moving pieces in what is not expected to be a year that the Raiders are truly competing for a title. But the wool of bad results cannot be pulled over the eyes of Raider Nation.
With Powers-Johnson potentially returning to the lineup in Week 4 after being injured and left out of the game plan the last two weeks, another reporter asked Kelly about what the team was getting back with him healthy.
"He's a bigger body. I think that's one reason why he's a better guard. He's built more like a guard than he is like a center. Jordan's built a little more like a [Jason] Kelce. An athletic guy [who can] pull, get out in space, all those other things," Kelly said. "Jackson is a tough, hard-nosed. There's a lot of big 3-techniques in this league ... so having a bigger body at the guard spot is what he is, and his toughness is always a positive to what we're doing."
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These coaches have boatloads of experience to draw from, and it is hard to argue with the winning pedigree that they have brought to Las Vegas. But something has to give in order for the fan base to change its tune about how much worse the offensive line has looked in 2025.
When asked about the offense's overall struggles, particularly in the running game, Kelly did not seem super concerned either. He talked about league-wide trends in an attempt to dissuade people from thinking that the Raiders have a glaring problem they need to address, which did not sit well.
"I think it's the defenses right now. If you look at, statistically, Ashton's tied for 10th in the league for carries with two other guys. Of the top 12 backs in the National Football League right now, through three games, there's only four guys that average over 4.0 yards per carry," Kelly said. "Saquon Barkley averages 3.3 yards per carry, [Christian] McCaffrey averages 3.0 yards per carry. So Ashton's right in the bunch with those guys right now. I think, across the league, through the first three games, the defenses are ahead of the offenses right now in the NFL."
This is not necessarily Kelly or the Raiders' staff taking accountability, even if he tacked on at the end that the team needs to do a better job, especially in the running game. It sounds more like an excuse or a way to convince the fan base that things are not actually going as poorly as they seem to be.
Kelly may be right, but it doesn't exactly inspire a lot of confidence in Raider Nation that the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the league cannot figure out a way to supercede these tough times. Fans should still have faith in Kelly, but these comments threw gas on an already huge fire.
Las Vegas' offensive line needs to respond in a major way this week against the Bears; otherwise, they'll be called to the carpet. Kelly knows this, no matter how much he tries to dispel the idea that they are not faring any worse than the rest of the league.