As expected for a team with a 2-8 record, the Las Vegas Raiders have been littered with issues during the 2025 NFL season. Not the least of which was special teams, as coordinator Tom McMahon's group had its share of blunders through the first nine games of the campaign.
While they were solid in the return game, and punter A.J. Cole is having a downright elite season, kicker Daniel Carlson is having his worst year to date, the kick and punt coverage units have been porous, and the team has had a kick and a punt blocked this season.
So, one could call this a mixed bag, like every other unit on the Raiders. Still, the team made an example out of McMahon after Week 10's primetime loss to the Broncos, relieving him of his duties following a game in which Las Vegas had a punt blocked and Carlson missed a key kick.
Raiders firing Tom McMahon was obviously not a cure-all
This move was understandable considering the magnitude of these two miscues, as, in a way, they cost the Raiders a chance at winning. But on Monday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys, Las Vegas still found a way to lose, despite McMahon being out of the building. Shocking, right?
Well, not really. There was certainly a building case for McMahon to lose his job. But it was a peculiar choice to make the team's special teams coordinator the first domino to fall when there are much more glaring issues than the ones happening on just a handful of plays per game.
Obviously, special teams are incredibly important. But in each game that the Raiders supposedly lost because of special teams, there was plenty of blame to go around. Suffice it to say, firing McMahon did not solve Las Vegas' biggest issues.
In fact, the Raiders' special teams unit was a bit better on Monday, but still not perfect. They gave up one big return in the fourth quarter and looked downright lost on this bizarre play, but still, most of the Raiders' issues in this game were on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
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Take Week 3 against the Washington Commanders, for example. The Raiders gave up a punt return for a touchdown and a handful of other explosive plays in the return game. But Las Vegas also gave up 34 points on defense, to a backup quarterback, no less.
In Week 4 against the Chicago Bears, the Raiders allowed Carlson's game-winning kick to be blocked. But Geno Smith threw three interceptions in that contest, which obviously affected the outcome more. Oh, and Las Vegas had some special teams injuries, but that excuse must not apply to them.
Of course, in Week 9, Carlson didn't land a kick in the landing zone and missed an extra point, which ultimately sent the game into overtime, where the Raiders lost. But the defense gave up 24 points after halftime, and Smith had a blunder on the game-winning two-point conversion.
Finally, in Week 10, yes, Carlson's missed kick was back-breaking, and having a punt blocked gave the Denver Broncos a free three points, which mattered a ton in a 10-7 game. But Smith and the offense contributed just 7 points, so who is really to blame?
This is not meant to discredit the importance of special teams play, and in no way is this advocacy for McMahon to have kept his job. But the Raiders' issues are much, much deeper than just firing one coordinator, and they learned that on Monday, as Las Vegas got walloped once again without him.