The Las Vegas Raiders traveled to Lincoln Financial Field in Week 15 with nothing to play for against the Philadelphia Eagles, but storylines were abundant. Kenny Pickett was set to start in a revenge game, the Eagles were on a three-game skid, and these two teams had tons of roster crossover.
But the contest played out like a Madden game in which one team had things set to easy mode, and the other team was on extreme difficulty. Of course, the Raiders were the latter team, as they got steamrolled in a 31-0 blowout.
Pete Carroll and his staff have looked painfully unprepared all season, but Sunday was a special case. This marks the fifth-straight game that Las Vegas has been blown out, and their ninth time this year. At 2-12, that means the team is almost five times as likely to get utterly stomped on as to win.
Pete Carroll's silver lining from loss to Eagles is just embarrassing
Nothing went right for the Raiders in this humiliating "get right" game for Philadelphia. When Carroll spoke to the media after the contest, he was pestered with questions about the team's effort and fight, to which Carroll denied there being any faltering.
He did, however, say the ugly truth out loud about Las Vegas' agonizing defeat.
"The only good thing that happened is that we didn't get anybody hurt today."Pete Carroll after loss to Eagl
In fairness to Carroll, he is absolutely right. That is, arguably, the only good thing that happened in Week 15, outside of the Raiders remaining near the top of the draft order. But Carroll doesn't care about that, so this is his truth.
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Now, should an NFL head coach say that after a game? It's complicated. On the one hand, it's hard to argue with a coach being honest and not sugarcoating things in a lopsided shutout. But there was surely a handful of positive moments or performances that Carroll is glossing over here.
Ultimately, it doesn't really matter what Carroll says anymore, as his countdown to being fired should coincide with the game clock in Week 18's matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs. But for now, he's still the Raiders' head coach, and it is fascinating, in a way, to hear him explain each week's blunders.
Carroll has long been out of answers to help this team, and now, he is running out of time. He tried to make Tom McMahon and Chip Kelly scapegoats, but to no avail. Owner Mark Davis must soon realize that everything that stinks in Las Vegas is tied to Carroll, if he hasn't come to that conclusion already.