The Las Vegas Raiders were able to start the Pete Carroll era off with a win, but things have gone completely downhill since Week 1. They suffered a 20-9 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in their home opener before falling 41-24 to the Washington Commanders the following week.
After playing good football over the first two weeks, the defense regressed in a major way despite facing Marcus Mariota in Week 3, who was making his first start since 2022. The special teams were also awful, while the offensive line continues to be the biggest weakness of this team.
Las Vegas will look to bounce back in Week 4 as the Chicago Bears come to Allegiant Stadium. Coach Carroll and his staff will be hoping to avoid a three-game losing streak heading into a tough Week 5 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts on the road.
Jon Gruden reveals what he would advise Raiders head coach Pete Carroll
Former head coach Jon Gruden had two stints coaching the Raiders, leading the franchise to a 60-57 mark over that span. He recently appeared on the Home Grown podcast with Derek and David Carr, where he was asked how he would get the Raiders to play better football under Pete Carroll.
"It's still early in his regime. Let's not forget that. I mean, it's his third game. He's only been there for three games. We've got to get the running game going. I don't know what the running game is. It looks like they've been in the pistol, single back set quite a bit, but they've got to get Ashton Jeanty introduced to Raider Nation," Gruden said. "He's the sixth pick in the draft. We have to get this man going and take some pressure off our offensive line. We don't want to be pass protecting every snap. I think it all starts there -- trying to get in some manageable third-down situations where Brock Bowers, Jakobi Meyers, (Tre) Tucker, we can distribute the ball to these guys. But I think we've got to get some identity running it."
This goes without saying, as the poor play of the offensive line and the inability to get the run game going have been themes throughout the first three weeks. Gruden is also right that it is way too early in this regime to be feeling like the sky is falling.
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Gruden went on to talk about the defensive side of the football and special teams. Even tho his forte is more offense, he was a successful NFL head coach, and his words should be heeded, even if his second stint with the Silver and Black was a failure.
"Defensively, we've got to play better than we did against Washington. I know that. And the kicking game, we've got to win that phase of that part of the game," Carroll said. "We got killed last week by Washington, but I think Pete Carroll's upbeat, positive background that he has, I think he's got to keep that. We've got to get some of these young guys to come through, and we've got to get a lead, a fourth-quarter lead where Maxx Crosby and (Malcolm) Koonce and these guys can rush the passer. But I think starting fast, getting the run game going somehow, someway, would be a real remedy for everybody."
Obviously, Gruden's word is not the end-all, be-all, and Carroll is arguably just as legendary, if not more so, than Gruden in the scope of NFL head coaching résumés. But something has to change for this Raiders team, and fast, otherwise the season will get away from them.