Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders
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Geno Smith at Raiders offseason workouts.
The Las Vegas Raiders look to have their QB1 settled with Geno Smith, who guided the Silver and Black to a Week 1 road win over the New England Patriots.
Smith was sharp in his debut, completing 24of 34 passes for 362 yards and a touchdown. His lone score came early, a 26-yard strike to Tre Tucker in the first quarter.
The veteran also found rookie tight end Brock Bowers for five catches totaling 103 yards, and in the fourth quarter, he connected with fellow rookie Dont’e Thornton Jr. on a 36-yard completion that helped seal the victory.
After the performance, CBS Sports’ Leger Douzable said having Smith under center could give opposing teams headaches throughout the season when they line up against Las Vegas.
“People are going to hate to see the Raiders on the schedule, and it’s because of Geno Smith,”Douzable said on “CBS Sports HQ.“ “Nobody throws more perfect passes than him. He set a record for a quarterback debuting for the Raiders with 362 pass yards.Brock Bowers, I know he got banged up in the game, and it seems like he will be all right. Over 100 yards.
“He’s still a mismatch thatnobody wants to see safety or a linebacker. Jakobi Meyers, I know he wanted a new deal. He played really well in that game. Me and you talked about Dont’e Thornton being that down-the-field threat. They got him the ball a few times. I think this is a team, like you said, the best of Ashton Jeanty. Now, we saw a physical run at the goal line, and that’s what he’s synonymous with.”
NFL Teams Don’t Want to See the Raiders
Douzable isn’t predicting that Las Vegas will be a playoff team. However, they are going to make life difficult for any team that the Silver and Black facewill be in for a longcontest
“This is a team that, when people see them on the schedule, they’re going to say, ‘We’re in for a dogfight,'” Douzable added. “I’m not saying they’re making the playoffs, but they’re going to be a tough out week in and week out.”
It will be interesting to see if the Raiders take this approach of having tightly contested gamescan be enough for the team to put themselves in a playoff position.
Geno Smith Staying Grounded Despite Strong Start
After the victory over the Patriots,Smith told CBS Sports he’s happy to kick off his time in Las Vegas with a strong start. Despite the praise he’s receiving as a former Seattle Seahawks quarterback, Smith remains focused, approaching each game step by step.
“Just one win, “ Smith said. “We’ve got a long ways to go. Happy we got to win, but we got to work tomorrow. I’m ready for work… I think we just stuck with the game plan. I thought we did execute it better in the second half. It’s a four-quarter game. They’re a good team as well. I mean, it’s the NFL. They’re going to win some as well. But we stuck with it, no one panicked, and we kept going, and we figured it out.”