It doesn't take a genius to see the Las Vegas Raiders' struggles during the 2025 NFL season. Geno Smith turns the ball over too often, the offensive line can't move people, the defense gives up too much against high-powered offenses, and the special teams unit has made several crucial errors.
Perhaps the biggest problem plaguing the Raiders, however, is creativity when it comes to offensive play-calling. Las Vegas hired offensive guru Chip Kelly this offseason and made him the highest-paid coordinator in NFL history, but the results have been quite unsavory.
While it is one thing for fans to be calling Kelly incompetent and wanting him to lose his job, head coach Pete Carroll has also been throwing him under the bus lately. Former Raiders guard Richie Incognito decided he also wanted to jump in on the fun.
Richie Incognito didn't hold back on Raiders' Chip Kelly
During Las Vegas' Thursday Night Football clash with the Denver Broncos in Week 10, Incognito, who played for the Silver and Black in 2019 and 2020, made a series of posts on social media. They centered around Kelly and the Raiders' offense, and he said the ugly truth out loud.
"Offensive play calling is a joke."Richie Incognito on Raiders' TNF showing
After initially being thrilled about Las Vegas feeding rookie running back Ashton Jeanty early in the contest and having success, Incognito changed his tune as the game went on and Las Vegas' issues mounted. When the matchup was over, he continued his rant, this time, in more detail.
"Wasted opportunity for the Raiders. Defense gave them premium field position all first half… 7 points. Jeanty was rolling early then they go away from him. If you’re not committed to the run, play-action isn’t fooling anyone. You’re not threatening them with the run out of shotgun," Incognito wrote. "Then it’s screens and TE jet sweeps like they’re searching for answers. After the last turnover they finally commit to the run, move the chains… then immediately get predictable again. Nobody is playing up to the standard but this is on coaching too. Put players in position to succeed."
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That about sums it up. Incognito played 13 years in the NFL for five different franchises and was a four-time Pro Bowler, so he knows what a successful offense looks like. Raiders fans knew all too well that their group was underperforming, but Incognito put his finger on exactly why.
It isn't just the inexplicable quarterback sneaks on 3rd-and-2, abandoning the run when Jeanty is having success, putting the ball in Smith's hands far too often in the red zone, or failing to utilize the team's best player, Brock Bowers. It is the synergy of the unit and how all these factors work together.
Las Vegas has a long week to figure things out before a Monday Night Football bout against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 11 at Allegiant Stadium. But if the first 10 weeks of the season, and Incognito's astute rant, told Raider Nation anything, it was to lower their expectations for the offense.