The Las Vegas Raiders lost to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, 31-0. Vegas is now 2-5 after coming into the season with faint playoff expectations. Kenny Pickett came into the game late, potentially pointing to the end of the Geno Smith experiment. A blowout loss to their division rivals on the road has their legendary coach at a loss for words. Raiders head coach Pete Carroll spoke with the media after that horrendous blowout.
“This one I didn’t see coming,” Carroll said, per Ryan McFadden of ESPN.
The Raiders were significant underdogs in the game, but that does not mean the Super Bowl champion was counting his team out. They never got close to scoring points in this game, and the defense could not stop Patrick Mahomes. Now, Carroll and the Raiders hit the bye with just two wins.
The Raiders were without Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers for the matchup with the Chiefs, which hampered the offense. But even when both of those targets are playing, the offense has been anemic. They need a jumpstart coming out of the bye in Week 9 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. That could come from Pickett.
Carroll came out of a one-year retirement to coach the Raiders. The start to his tenure in Vegas has been less than ideal, and the noise is getting loud from the fanbase. His reunion with Smith has been the root of the problem, so moving on from the quarterback is a solid first step. But there are a lot more problems in Vegas than just the quarterback.
The Raiders' defense could not stop the Chiefs' offense early in this game. Rashee Rice scored two touchdowns early on, Patrick Mahomes was unstoppable, and all of KC's key players were on the bench for the fourth quarter. An old-school blowout sends Pete Carroll and the Raiders into the bye.
