The Las Vegas Raiders suffered their worst loss of the 2025 season in Week 3 as they fell 41-24 to the Washington Commanders, who were playing without their star second-year quarterback Jayden Daniels. The performance was ugly in all three facets as the defense and special teams combined to allow a season-high in points despite Marcus Mariota making his first start since 2022. Meanwhile, the offensive line struggled in both pass protection and run blocking.
The unit allowed a season-high five sacks while struggling to produce holes in the running game as Las Vegas finished with just 3.3 yards per carry. Geno Smith played solid in the loss as he finished with 289 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions while completing 65.5% of his pass attempts.
It was not enough, however, as there was plenty of blame to go around. Head coach Pete Carroll opted to shoulder that blame following the blowout loss.
Pete Carroll takes accountability following Raiders blowout loss to Commanders
The Raiders started the Carroll era with a 20-13 road win over the New England Patriots, however, things have quickly fallen apart in the two games since as they have been outscored 61-33. Following their 17-point loss to the Commanders, the head coach took accountability for the performance.
Speaking with the media in comments shared by ESPN's Ryan McFadden, Carroll stated:
"It's not scheme-wise, it's just physically, I think I didn't get them right. I'm disappointed in myself that I didn't see it coming... That's just not the football we play. If you give up big plays, you're no good, and we were no good today."
While Carroll certainly deserves some of the blame for the performance and the defense and special teams were quite bad, the offensive line has continued to be the roster's weakest spot. Smith has been pressured 50 times through three games, while being sacked 12 times -- which is tied for the second-most in the NFL.
Meanwhile, the rushing attack has averaged 3.1 yards per carry and 72.3 yards per game, both of which are the third-fewest in the league. Ashton Jeanty has been hit at or behind the line of scrimmage on 27 of his 47 carries this season, an unacceptable mark.
There have been questions about Carroll's decision to name his son as the offensive line coach and run game coordinator, as well as his shuffling of the offensive line. Regardless, the unit has to perform better, as they have been, arguably, the worst group in the league through three games.