The Las Vegas Raiders fell to 1-4 after Sunday’s 40-6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. The team has now lost four-straight games after opening the season with a 20-13 victory over the New England Patriots. Head coach Pete Carroll still believes the Raiders can recover from the rocky start. And he has a source for his inspiration.
Carroll pointed to the Las Vegas Aces as a reason to keep believing, per Raiders reporter Levi Edwards. Mark Davis’ other team started the year 9-11 before rallying. The Aces reached the playoffs after winning 16-straight games to close the regular season. Las Vegas advanced to the WNBA Finals and took a 2-0 series lead with Sunday’s win over the Phoenix Mercury.
Despite his renowned upbeat personality, Carroll isn’t having a great time with the Raiders. The veteran head coach acknowledged that he expected to win “right out of the chutes” in 2025. Instead, the team appears to be well behind Carroll’s expectations.
Pete Carroll off to rocky debut with Raiders
After finishing 4-13 last season, Davis and the Raiders hired the 74-year-old and reunited him with his former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith. Las Vegas was hoping to avoid a rebuild by adding the experienced coach and QB.
However, since their encouraging season-opening win in New England, the Raiders have been outscored 126-63. The team is now tied for the second-worst record in the NFL.
Turnovers have been a big part of the problem. Las Vegas has lost the turnover battle 9-3 over its four-game skid. And Smith’s sudden penchant for interceptions is hurting the team. The 12th-year veteran has been intercepted in four games this season. He’s thrown multiple picks three times, adding two more in Sunday’s loss to the Colts.
Smith has nine interceptions through five games. He threw nine total interceptions in 15 starts during the 2023 season. Last year he was picked off 15 times in 17 starts. The two-time Pro Bowler is on pace to throw over 30 interceptions in 2025.
The Raiders' next chance to begin an Aces-inspired turnaround comes this Sunday when Las Vegas hosts the Tennessee Titans. The Aces, meanwhile, travel to Phoenix for Game 3 against the Mercury on Wednesday evening.
