In Week 15, the Las Vegas Raiders had a new starting quarterback for the first time in the 2025 NFL season. While the fan base has spent several weeks hoping to see someone other than Geno Smith under center, it ultimately made no difference, as the team was embarrassed yet again.
With Kenny Pickett starting in place of an injured Smith, Las Vegas fell 31-0 to the Philadelphia Eagles. It marked their eighth consecutive loss, as they dropped to 2-12 in what has been a brutal season for the franchise, one that could wind up being their worst since the AFL-NFL merger.
Pickett, and the rest of the offense for that matter, had an unproductive game, as the unit finished with a woeful 75 yards of total offense. It may have been the fourth-year quarterback's last true opportunity to turn things around in his NFL career.
Kenny Pickett fails to take advantage of a golden opportunity
There are only 32 starting quarterback jobs in the NFL, and Pickett knows, as well as anyone, how easy it is to lose that opportunity. Despite being the only quarterback selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Sunday's loss to Philadelphia was just his 26th career start in four seasons.
It is not impossible to return to a starting role years later, however. Smith was an extreme case, as there were seven years between his starting gigs, but others like Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold have also proven that some players are just late bloomers.
Still, when you fail to take advantage of an opportunity that presents itself, it makes returning to such a role even more difficult. Especially when the offensive effort that your group puts together is one of the worst in NFL history.
RELATED: Rob Gronkowski just embarrassed Raiders and their fans in a brand new way
Pickett had a golden opportunity to prove that he is at least worthy of a look as a starting quarterback, and he failed massively. Despite facing an Eagles defense that he was familiar with, he laid an egg on Sunday, finishing with just 64 passing yards, no touchdowns, and one interception.
It would be unfair to place all of the blame solely on him, as the offensive line did him no favors, allowing four sacks, and it could've been much more. Still, it is a performance-based league, and Pickett missed a chance to prove that he deserves to compete for a starting role going forward.
While head coach Pete Carroll claimed that Smith would return to his usual starting role as soon as he is healthy, Pickett could have put pressure on the organization to allow him to start the final three games of the year with a strong showing as he had in the final quarter last week.
Instead, if Smith can play in Week 16, he will likely be back under center. Pickett is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and after being traded twice last offseason, it's unknown what the perception of him is or what kind of market he may have. But this was a missed chance.