The Las Vegas Raiders' offense was expected to take a major step forward during the 2025 NFL season after adding Geno Smith, Ashton Jeanty and Chip Kelly this offseason. The unit has wildly underperformed through four games, however, ranking 24th in scoring offense and 18th in total yards.
Smith leads the NFL with seven interceptions, while the Raiders' eight turnovers are also tied for the league lead. They will be facing the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5, who boast a strong defense, highlighted by ranking 12th in points allowed and 17th in total yards allowed.
Las Vegas will look for a bounce-back game from Smith, who finished with just 117 passing yards and three interceptions against the Chicago Bears in Week 4. It won't be easy on the road in Indianapolis, but the Raiders may have one significant advantage against the Colts' defense this weekend.
Raiders have a significant advantage against the Colts in Week 5
While the Raiders had, by far, their best game of the season on the ground last week, the passing attack had its worst performance. In Week 5, however, they should rebound due to an advantage: Las Vegas has multiple coaches on staff who have worked with Colts' defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo before.
Chip Kelly noted as much during his press conference on Thursday.
"I've got a lot of respect for Lou. I've known Lou for a long time. He actually coached with (senior offensive assistant) Joe Philbin back when he was with the Dolphins. (Senior offensive assistant) Bobby Bicknell, on our staff, was with him when he was with the Bengals. He took a team to the Super Bowl," Kelly noted. "They're going to present multiple looks for you. They're going to make it hard on the quarterback in having to make decisions at the line of scrimmage. They show you one thing and then play another thing. So, they're really, really well coached."
While the results have not been there yet in Pete Carroll's first year leading the Raiders, he has put together an experienced staff that has had success in the league. Philbin, who is one of several holdovers from last year's staff, was the offensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers when they won Super Bowl XLV.
He also hired Anarumo as his defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins back when he was the head coach in 2015.
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Meanwhile, Bicknell also reached the Super Bowl as the Bengals' wide receivers coach, spending three years on the same staff as Anarumo. That has been a theme among Carroll's coaching staff, as there are multiple coaches with previous Super Bowl experience, including Carroll himself.
The coaching staff's experience working alongside Anarumo should provide the Raiders with an advantage against the Colts, as these two coaches should have an idea as to the inner workings of the Indianapolis defense.
Smith's ability to learn the ins and outs of the Colts' defense and pick them apart will likely be the key to victory in Week 5. Luckily, he has a few strong sources already in the building to help him out with that.