The Las Vegas Raiders have had a whirlwind of issues during the 2025 NFL season, making it easy to understand why they sit at 2-12 with three games left in the year. Pete Carroll has already fired two coordinators, leaving Patrick Graham, a holdover from previous regimes, as the last man standing.
While the defense has been the least of the Raiders' problems this year, they still haven't performed up to snuff. Yes, it is incredibly difficult when the offense can't stay on the field. Yes, it is hard when Las Vegas spots opposing teams the ball deep in their own territory.
But Graham's unit, which has, unfortunately, dealt with major influence from Carroll, gives up far too many extended drives. Plus, they have always been a "bend, don't break" unit, and this year, with Carroll's archaic Cover 3 scheme taking center stage, they've broken more than they've bent.
Greg Olsen didn't pull punches when talking about Raiders' defense
On Sunday, the Raiders got blown out and shut out by the Philadelphia Eagles, losing 31-0. FOX Sports announcer Greg Olsen, also a legendary NFL tight end, threw gas on Las Vegas' defensive issues with a series of one-liners during the broadcast.
His first comments came after the Eagles scored on yet another shovel pass to tight end Dallas Goedert, and the Raiders didn't have a single defensive player even approaching setting the edge. Olsen called that out.
"For an NFL defense to not have one single defender on the edge is just really hard to fathom," Olsen said.
Hard to fathom. Perplexing. That is shameful for an NFL defense. Veteran linebacker Devin White was the player who was supposed to set the edge, as you can decipher from Maxx Crosby's NSFW rant following the play. At another point in the game, Olsen stung the Las Vegas defense again.
"They just can't execute basic coverage."Greg Olsen on Raiders' defense
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It is Week 15. The Raiders' defense certainly has some young pieces, but they have veterans like White, Elandon Roberts, Jeremy Chinn, Eric Stokes and Isaiah Pola-Mao frequently dropping back into coverage. How, months into the season, does this team still not have the basics down?
Lack of talent is certainly an issue in Las Vegas, but these wide-scale issues fall squarely on the coaching staff. Graham, in his three years with the Silver and Black, has never had these kinds of issues. So, what changed?
Obviously, we will never know the inner workings of the Raiders' organization, but if, statistically, Carroll is influencing Graham's defense to run more Cover 3 than ever before, it wouldn't be a surprise for Carroll to have a hand in other aspects.
One of the reports that came in after Chip Kelly's firing was that Carroll had Kelly running a playbook that resembled Shane Waldron's last offense with the Seattle Seahawks under Carroll. Why wouldn't the veteran coach be doing the same with the defense?
Graham is a good coach, and he has survived several leadership changes in Las Vegas because of that. But his days with the Raiders have to be numbered. Surely, another new head coach wouldn't keep him for a fourth time, and Graham likely doesn't want to attach himself to Carroll's hip if he stays.
These defensive issues in Las Vegas have been smoldering all year long, and Olsen's two harsh one-liners just threw gas on them. For the final three games of the campaign, the Raiders have to show improvement, or at least stop getting worse. But that seems unlikely at this juncture.