One of the most stunning revelations of the 2025 NFL season has been the Las Vegas Raiders' offense not being a top-flight group. Not only are they not among the best units in the league, but they are far worse than they were last year, and they were at the bottom of the barrel already in 2024.
A quick look at the numbers tells fans everything they need to know, as something reeks for the offense, perhaps multiple things. Their 15.4 points per game are 31st in the league, they've been held to single-digit points four times, and they've yet to eclipse 30 points in a single game this season.
Week 10's Thursday Night Football matchup against the Denver Broncos magnified the Raiders' issues on a national stage, as they scored just 7 points and recorded 188 total yards. On four occasions, Las Vegas was in Denver territory and failed to score a single point.
Pete Carroll is well aware of Chip Kelly and the offense's struggles
Simply put, things have been bad for the Raiders on offense. When asked about the team's offensive struggles during his postgame media availability, head coach Pete Carroll called a spade a spade about the offense, and his tone indicated that he may have been pretty upset with Chip Kelly.
"My concern level that we're not scoring enough points? Yeah, I agree, that's about as obvious as it gets," Carroll said. "We had a great touchdown play, walking into the end zone with Tre in the first half. To be up 14–0 on those guys and playing defense the way we were, that would’ve been a margin they never reached. It might have been enough to win the game. "
Carroll is right, as just a handful of mistakes did the team in during their primetime AFC West bout. He did mention that he has a concern level about the obvious offensive struggles, and fans know that Carroll would rather make Kelly the scapegoat than Geno Smith.
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The veteran coach went on to talk about some of the specifics of the offense's rough showing, and while he notes a variety of factors, it doesn't exactly sound like he's absolving Kelly of blame.
"There are a lot of factors here. We need to run the ball better against a really tough group. We have to protect better; they're one of the best teams at rushing the passer, and they showed it again tonight," Carroll said. "We couldn’t neutralize it, and the running game would’ve helped us there. Chip was trying to stay with the run to keep them from teeing off on us. Yeah, we’ve got to score more. That’s the bottom line."
Kelly's inconsistent usage of Ashton Jeanty has been a major theme for the Raiders this season, no matter how often Carroll says that the team needs to establish the run. Brock Bowers' lack of involvement on Thursday night also raised some eyebrows.
No matter how you slice it, the Las Vegas offense needs to dramatically improve, and Carroll knows it. If the group doesn't take any steps, the Raiders may be restarting on offense once again next season, and while that may not be a bad thing, it is definitely not a good thing.