The Las Vegas Raiders' disappointing 2025 NFL season dragged on this past Sunday, as they suffered a 31-14 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, which dropped their record to 2-10. The offense continued to struggle in Week 13, scoring 20 or fewer points for the ninth time in 12 games.
Once again, the offensive line made life difficult, allowing five sacks. The team also finished with just 125 passing yards, failing to reach the 300-yard mark for the 11th consecutive game. One player who has seen their production suffer due to the struggles of the passing game is wide receiver Tre Tucker.
The third-year player failed to eclipse the 50-yard threshold for the sixth consecutive game, having last done so against the Tennessee Titans way back in Week 6. Pete Carroll's latest comments seemingly gave Geno Smith some of the blame for his fall off over the second half of the campaign.
Pete Carroll subtly suggests Geno Smith is responsible for Tre Tucker's recent cold spell
Tucker is still in the midst of a career season, as his 550 receiving yards and five touchdowns are both career-highs, while his 44 receptions are just three short of a new career-best. It has been a tale of two seasons for the 2023 third-round pick, however, despite his overall breakout.
In the first six games of the year, Tucker recorded 24 catches for 356 yards and four touchdowns. Over the past six games, he has just 20 receptions, which have gone for only 194 yards and one touchdown.
There have been multiple instances where Tucker had his man beat, but Smith failed to connect with him, either by failing to see him or making an errant throw. That occurred once again on Sunday, as Tucker was wide open on a play that resulted in the Raiders' quarterback throwing an interception.
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During Monday's press conference, Carroll addressed the offense's inability to get Tucker the ball over the last few weeks, particularly when he beats his man.
"He's doing everything he can. He's doing everything he can," Carroll said. "And, a week ago, he found some spots where we really had chances that we missed out on. We didn't get a chance to get to him in this one yesterday, but he's doing fine."
While Las Vegas' head coach did not directly blame Smith, it is not hard to read between the lines here. If the offensive schemes are getting Tucker open, but he is not getting the ball reliably, only the quarterback is to blame.
Carroll has not offered even the slightest criticism of Smith throughout the season, despite his year-long struggles to protect the ball. While it is unlikely that he intended to throw his quarterback under the bus, it is a clear indictment of Smith that Tucker has not been involved in the offense lately.
If the Raiders' quarterback were doing a better job of scanning the field and finding Tucker when he is open, or at least making on-target throws when he does see him, the wide receiver's season would likely look much different, and perhaps the complexion of Las Vegas' offense would change, too.
Although the fan base should be happy with his improvement, it is hard not to wonder what his production would look like with a better signal-caller. Perhaps Raider Nation will find that out soon, hopefully, as soon as next season.