The Las Vegas Raiders had an uphill battle heading into Week 3 of the 2025 NFL season as they went on the road to play the Washington Commanders. Not only was this a tough matchup against a team that made the NFC Championship game last year, but traveling to the East Coast is always difficult.
To make matters worse, the Raiders played late on Monday Night Football, so they had to make the trip on a short week. To make matters even worse, the Commanders played on Thursday Night Football the previous week, giving them a four-day rest advantage while getting to stay at home.
It was obvious from the very first play of the game that Washington looked more rested than Las Vegas did, as Deebo Samuel took the opening kickoff 69 yards into Raiders territory. There should be no excuses, however, even if the Silver and Black faced this disadvantage two weeks in a row.
Pete Carroll thought Raiders were at massive disadvantage in Week 3
Head coach Pete Carroll glossed over these scheduling discrepancies heading into the matchups against the Commanders in Week 3 and the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2. But in a sitdown with Raiders reporter JT the Brick, he had some choice words for the NFL's decision.
"I witnessed the Commanders were really ready. They had the 10 days, and Dan (Quinn) did a good job with ramping that up to game time. They really seemed like they were really rolling," Carroll said. "And we were coming off a week where we didn't put the shoulderpads on one day. We were just trying to make sure we made it back because they had such an advantage. It would have been different had they been coming off a Sunday game."
It seems like the veteran coach knew very well that his team was up against it in Week 3, and he was not afraid to call this out. Rest and getting live reps at practice are so important for a team to be prepared, and the NFL's schedule took both of those away from the Raiders.
RELATED: Raiders bring in familiar face for workout after defensive struggles
Carroll wasn't done talking about the disadvantage, though. He went on in the same interview to talk about how unprecedented it was that Las Vegas had to endure this.
"The fact that we were that far behind their prep, I was trying to catch it up, and it didn't manufacture to what we needed. So, I'm disappointed that that was the way we went," Carroll said. "That situation, where a team comes off a Thursday Night versus a team that comes off a Monday Night, happens rarely in the league. If you go back and look at your stats, you'll see how difficult it is to win in those situations."
Fortunately, the Raiders have now had a full week of rest, and they'll get to play at home in Week 4 against the Chicago Bears. Of course, they have no scheduling advantage, because why would they? But at least they're not at a major disadvantage this week.