With a 2-11 record and just one win over their last 12 games, the Las Vegas Raiders are playing out the string of another dismal season. At this point, the focus among Raider Nation is on doing what it takes to get the No. 1 overall pick in the draft and hoping that Pete Carroll is gone after one season.
The best way for the Raiders to ensure getting the first overall pick in April is to lose out and finish 2-15. Geno Smith missing Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles would seem to be good for that pursuit. But Kenny Pickett led the offense to 10 fourth quarter points filling in for Smith last week.
Pickett looking like an immediate upgrade says it all about Smith, and it fuels the idea that a quarterback change for the Raiders should not have had to be injury-forced. Mark that as another failure by Carroll in a season full of them on his part.
Bold Week 15 prediction coming true would leave Raiders' fans conflicted
The Raiders, as expected, even with the Eagles on a three-game losing streak, are double-digit underdogs on Sunday. It looks like a get-right game for the defending champions, and a respite (however brief it may end up being) from all the negative narratives around them.
Garrett Podell of CBS Sports led his bold predictions for Week 15 in a way that will conflict Raiders fans.
"Eagles complete collapse with home loss vs. Kenny Pickett-led Raiders," Podell wrote.
Podell briefly chronicled each of the Eagles' last three losses, all agonizing in their own way, but....
"None of that will compare to the Eagles losing on Sunday in Philadelphia against the 2-11 Las Vegas Raiders as 11.5-point home favorites, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.
"The cherry on top in this defeat will be that it will come at the hands of former Eagles backup quarterback Kenny Pickett. Pickett subbed in for an injured Geno Smith in the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos, and he completed 8 of his 11 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown that came from 25 yards out."
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Podell then laid out the concise path for the Raiders to pull the upset.
"Pickett will be efficient, sixth overall pick running back Ashton Jeanty will run wild and the Raiders will cause the city of Philadelphia to melt down after stunning the Eagles and extending their losing streak to four," Podell wrote.
Fans want to see their team win regardless of the bigger picture circumstances, and a proverbial "revenge game" win over the Eagles would be nice for Pickett. But any win from here on out will be a hit to the Raiders' chances of getting the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
So, root for a loss that will keep things on track toward the coveted first overall pick in April? Or root for a win over the defending champs on the road, and the sugar high of a win during a season so devoid of good moments?
That's the conflict Raiders' fans are facing this week, and Podell's bold prediction put a spotlight on it.