The Las Vegas Raiders played their first preseason game under new head coach Pete Carroll on Thursday night. They overcame a rough start and ended up tying the Seattle Seahawks with a score of 23 to 23.
Like any close game, there was some good for Raider Nation to be excited about, but also some bad for fans to be worried about. However, that’s expected from the first preseason game, especially because the starters played very few snaps.
Still, there was one issue that immediately jumped off the screen to fans on Thursday, and that was trouble with tackling. Throughout the night, the Raiders struggled to bring ball carriers down, and fans were left wondering if it’ll be a problem for Las Vegas when the regular season starts.
Pete Carroll says Raiders haven’t done any live tackling in training camp
Time will tell if poor tackling will follow the team into the regular season, but Carroll did reveal something that would explain why the Raiders struggled on Thursday. When speaking with the media on Friday, the head coach admitted that the team hasn’t done any live tackling this offseason.
"(It's) the first time we've tackled anybody. That's why you play these games," Carroll said. "We've got work to do."
Pete Carroll says the tackling “stunk” in the #Raiders preseason opener.
— Taylor Rocha (@TaylorRochaTV) August 8, 2025
“First time we’ve tackled anybody. That’s why you play these games… We’ve got work to do.” #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/w5SGyNXHED
This makes a lot of sense, because the Raiders looked on Thursday like a team that had not practiced tackling yet this offseason. This isn’t necessarily uncommon; some teams prefer not to tackle at all during practice to prioritize health.
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Other teams, however, will have a few live tackling days throughout camp to get ready for the season. Typically, it’s clear early in the year which teams tackled during camp and which didn’t. On Thursday, it was obvious the Raiders were one of the teams that didn’t.
Carroll admitted that he is concerned, but also understands that this can happen when a team doesn't do any live tackling until a game. While he says the team will work hard to improve in that department specifically, it’s unclear if Las Vegas will change its practice approach.
The head coach did say that’s why they play the preseason games, so maybe the Raiders will rely on the next two preseason tilts to get their tackling up to speed for the regular season. If not, it could make for a long season in Las Vegas.