Despite some poor performances from the Las Vegas Raiders at the beginning of the 2025 NFL season, the team, fan base and national media still largely held out hope for the remainder of the year. It seemed like the Silver and Black had the proper pieces to turn things around as they progressed.
Unfortunately, that has not been the case at all. Things continue to snowball for Pete Carroll's Raiders, as they've been blown out in three contests on their current five-game losing streak. After an initial high in Week 1, they've lost nine of their last 10 games, giving them a pitiful 2-9 record.
If that isn't bad enough, the future is fairly bleak as well. Although the team does have some young talent, they aren't being developed properly. Las Vegas has some serious salary cap space and likely a premier draft pick, but fans aren't confident in it all coming together with Carroll still at the helm.
Raiders rank dead-last at No. 32 in latest NFL power rankings
After a blowout Week 12 loss to the Cleveland Browns, another one of the NFL's worst teams, the Raiders reached yet another inconceivable low. In Eric Edholm's NFL.com power rankings ahead of Week 13, Las Vegas landed in dead last, slotted in at No. 32.
"Look, Raiders fans, I'm sorry. I truly wish I knew what to tell you here -- that it will be all right eventually -- but I just can't in good conscience do that. I hate lying, and right now, this Las Vegas operation is just non-functional on the whole. That Geno Smith finished Sunday with one of his better passing totals of the season is truly remarkable," Edholm wrote. "If you tuned into the game briefly, it's a safe bet you saw Geno getting blasted, with the veteran quarterback taking a whopping 10 sacks on the day. Add in a bushel of penalties and some horrendous tackling on defense, and it was just a putrid Raiders effort against the Browns. Las Vegas might need to ctrl-alt-delete this thing again in the offseason."
To make matters worse, Edholm provided some future optimism about other teams at the bottom of this list, and he made some injury-related excuses for others. But not for the Raiders. He absolutely eviscerated the team with his statement, and although harsh, it contains quite a bit of truth.
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Las Vegas finds itself in a difficult position because it simply cannot keep starting over every offseason with new leadership in place. Stability is not just a luxury; it is a necessity for an NFL team, and every good organization has it.
But yet, the Raiders cannot trot out Carroll, who will be 75 years old, as their head coach next season and convince fans that they are a serious franchise. This has arguably been the worst version of the Silver and Black in recent memory, and that has to come with some consequences.
If the Raiders had a bunch of young, up-and-comers in the building, there would be no need to hit the panic button. But with an aging head coach, a 35-year-old quarterback who is underperforming, and two coordinator spots needing to be filled, things are absolutely dire in Las Vegas.
There may not be a team in the NFL that has more to figure out than the Raiders next offseason. It will be such an undertaking that they may as well start now by playing the young players and getting rid of or benching any veterans that won't, or don't want to, be there next year.