The Las Vegas Raiders are suffering an embarrassing blowout at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5. One of the biggest issues has been quarterback Geno Smith continuing to throw interceptions.
Entering the fourth quarter, Smith had thrown two interceptions in the shocking 40-3 beatdown. That put him up to nine on the season. It's the most amount of picks by a Raiders quarterback through the first five games of a season since Jim Plunkett's nine in 1982, via Ryan McFadden of ESPN.
Zach Wilson was the last quarterback to have nine picks in their first five games with the New York Jets in 2021. Not great company for Wilson to be in.
The Raiders' Week 4 matchup against the Chicago Bears exposed a lot of Smith's interception problems. He threw three total in a 25-24 loss. But that wasn't the first time Smith had a trio of picks, as the Los Angeles Chargers got him thrice in their Week 2 matchup. The only game in which Smith hasn't thrown an interception came in Week 3, a 41-24 loss to the Washington Commanders.
It's not entirely Smith's fault that the Raiders lost as badly as they did to the Colts. However, not even putting a touchdown on the board is a telling sign. Las Vegas has some serious changes to make as they consider their offense moving forward.
Whether or not that means benching Smith is yet to be seen. However, his historic interception pace certainly isn't helping the Raiders win football games. Both quarterback and team will look to get back on track when the face the Tennessee Titans in Week 6.
