The Las Vegas Raiders' 2025 NFL season has become a bit cyclic. The team takes on an opponent, gets blown out in a relatively uneventful fashion, and then makes no significant adjustments for the following week. Rinse and repeat.
In Week 15, however, things were a bit different for the Silver and Black. They still got pummeled, losing 31-0 to the Philadelphia Eagles to mark their eighth straight loss. But this brutal defeat was actually more of a win for the franchise, long-term, based on what transpired.
Not only did the team not screw up its draft position, but they learned a ton about themselves. With nothing tangible to play for at this juncture in the campaign, self-evaluation is paramount, as the Raiders must know what they have going into next year if they ever want to improve.
Raiders' loss to Eagles had several major benefits for the franchise
First and foremost, Las Vegas got a different look at quarterback with Kenny Pickett starting. While it wasn't necessarily his fault, it became clear that Pickett shouldn't have a future with the organization beyond this season. Had they never played him, they might not have ever known that.
Due to a combination of injuries and coaching decisions, Raider Nation also got to see a handful of young and end-of-rotation players get some snaps. Rookie Charles Grant looked good in limited action, and both Shedrick Jackson and Dylan Laube got some offensive snaps.
Defensively, both rookie defensive tackles, Tonka Hemingway and J.J. Pegues, played double-digit snaps, and second-year linebacker Tommy Eichenberg got a chance to show what he is capable of. These are both major developments for these young players.
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As far as the rookies and young guns who have been playing lately, they got served a slice of humble pie, which is a good thing. Darien Porter played every defensive snap, as did Caleb Rogers on offense, and both Ashton Jeanty and Jack Bech played over 30 snaps. Dont'e Thornton Jr. played eight.
Did these players make mistakes? Absolutely. A lot of them. But they were facing off against the defending Super Bowl Champions and some of the best players in the NFL. The result of this game was utterly meaningless, but the lessons learned from it are priceless.
While the Raiders may have gone into the game trying to pull off an upset, they actually left with something better: a chance to still land the No. 1 pick, a clear vision of several players' futures, and letting their young guys learn via trial by fire against the league's best. Sounds like a win to me!