The Las Vegas Raiders got back in the win column in Week 6, as they took down the Tennessee Titans at Allegiant Stadium. The 20-10 win marked their first victory since Week 1 against the New England Patriots, as well as their first home win of the 2025 NFL season.
Geno Smith entered the contest under plenty of pressure, as his performances during the team's four-game losing streak had fans ready to replace him with backup Kenny Pickett. Another poor outing would have been the final nail in the coffin for the veteran signal-caller.
Although the Raiders won, and Smith was not an active detriment like he had been in each of the last four games, he still didn't show enough against Tennessee to prove to the team or fan base that he is the right man for the job.
Geno Smith must show Raiders fans more to fend off criticism
A simple look at the stat sheet would say that Smith was merely average, as he completed an impressive 73.9% of his passes, but only for 174 yards. He also threw his first touchdown to a player not named Tre Tucker or Ashton Jeanty, but he also threw his tenth interception.
Smith did lead a handful of solid drives, but he continues to take crucial sacks in the most important portion of the field. While he was technically sacked just twice on Sunday, he was also brought down two more times, but these were negated by Titans penalties that had nothing to do with the play.
Tennessee's defense is also among the worst in the league. According to Pro Football Reference, they had given up the 21st-most passing yards in the NFL on just the 15th-most attempts, which is a testament to just how often opposing teams are running on them because they have a lead.
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This would have been a game for Smith to really get back into the team and the fan base's good graces, but a middling performance is not going to do that. Especially against a Titans defense that got picked apart by upper-echelon quarterbacks like Matthew Stafford, C.J. Stroud and even Daniel Jones.
While Smith did not do anything to jeopardize his job on Sunday, he didn't exactly solidify himself as the quarterback of the future. The Raiders had tons of personnel in attendance at various college football games with big-time quarterbacks this weekend, so the pressure is still on.
Week 7 will be a big test for Smith, as the Kansas City Chiefs' defense is downright elite against the pass, and they're fresh off shutting down Jared Goff and the Lions. A strong performance could revitalize Smith's standing in Raider Nation, but if he puts together another showing like he did this week, fans still won't buy that he's the right quarterback.