The Las Vegas Raiders suffered a brutal beatdown in Week 2 of the 2025 NFL season against their AFC West rival, the Los Angeles Chargers. While the 20-9 final score depicts a relatively close game, it felt far from it, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
New quarterback Geno Smith, after a heroic performance on opening weekend against the New England Patriots, came crashing back down to Earth on Monday. He finished 24-for-43 with 180 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions, and the offense did not get in the end zone once.
It wasn't just that Smith's stats looked bad, but he was a shell of himself out there against the Chargers. It was just one game, but fans have already started to hit the panic button and rightfully compared some of his plays to those of polarizing former quarterback Derek Carr.
Geno Smith was Derek Carr-esque in Raiders' brutal Week 2 loss
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On the first play of the game, Smith made an errant throw to Tre Tucker, who was solidly covered, which resulted in a tip-drill interception. He then responded by leading two field goal drives in the next three possessions, which kept the team afloat.
However, Smith took two sacks on third downs to end those aforementioned drives. His inability to uncork the ball or extend the play on these downs gave the Raiders no chance of scoring a touchdown, and his red-zone struggles were eerily reminiscent of Carr at his worst.
Then, with the ball at nearly midfield and Las Vegas down 17-6 with just a minute or so left in the half, Smith chucked an ill-advised ball toward the goal line for rookie Dont'e Thornton Jr., which was picked off. Smith pushed it when he didn't need to, and held it when he couldn't afford to, which felt Carr-esque.
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After beginning the half with a solid 19-play, over-11-minute drive that resulted in a field goal, the Raiders had the ball on the Los Angeles 25-yard line. They were trailing 20-9, and it was third-and-15, so the team could have made a safe play and settled for a field goal to put them down one score.
But Smith chose to push the envelope and try to take something that wasn't there, throwing his third interception of the day. On the following drive, Smith took another brutal sack on fourth-and-3 when he simply had to get rid of the ball.
Smith's ultimate Carr moment came on Las Vegas' final offensive play of the game, when he scrambled around frantically on fourth down. Ultimately, however, he threw the ball away, not even giving any of his receivers a chance, which sealed any hope the Raiders had of an improbable comeback.
Luckily, it was just one game. Raider Nation knew that Smith was going to be a bit up and down, and while maybe they did not expect him to crumble quite like this, he is a mentally tough player who plays his best when his back is up against the wall. Expect a major bounce back in Week 3.
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