After Monday night’s 33-16 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith debuted what could be a sample of an early 2000s emo song: “Blame it on me.”
Smith shouldered the criticism for the rough night, as the offense never recovered and only found foul play for the first time on an 18-drive in the fourth quarter in a game that was already out of reach. At the end of his monologue, Smith’s tongue was planted in his cheek.
“You guys look at the film, I know we have a lot of guys on Monday morning who like to watch film and take screenshots and see where guys were open, so I’m sure you guys see where guys were open,” Smith said. “I just have to play better. I keep saying this. If something doesn’t look right out there, blame it on me. If it doesn’t look right, blame it on me. That’s all you can do, blame it on me. If your kids screw up in school, blame it on me. Car broke down on the way to work? Blame it on me.”
Smith completed 27 of 42 passes for 238 yards with a touchdown and an interception for a 77.3 passer rating while recording four sacks.
The veteran quarterback is clearly frustrated after losing his fourth straight and dropping eight of his last nine following Week 1’s upset of the 9-2 Patriots.
Smith hasn’t played well, throwing his 13th INT on Monday night (Tua Tagovailoa) in the league, but that’s not entirely his fault. The offensive line, dealing with injuries, has been devastating in both run and pass blocking. The weapons do not exist, young or both. And the play Chip Kelly calls is questionable – to put it as kindly as possible.
Facing a Cowboys team that allowed 143 rushing yards per game and 4.8 yards per carry entering the game, the Raiders didn’t even try to establish a play. Vegas finished with 12 rushes for 27 yards (2.3 YPC). Four of those and a team-leading 14 yards came from Smith on three carries and a kneel. That means in 58 offensive plays, the Raiders handed it off eight times for 13 yards (1.6 YPC). Ashton Jeanty carried the ball six times for seven yards and was stuffed for a safety in the fourth quarter.
The offensive line has struggled to close all season, but the lack of testing the Cowboys’ improved defense appears to be the wrong coaching decision. However, Pete Carroll defended the game plan.
“There’s only one person to watch, that’s me, because I was affecting the game plan,” Carroll said of the offensive scheme. “I loved how we were splitting them up and we made a big play. I knew what was going on. Chip and I knew what was going on.”
“I don’t care about making people happy with our run-pass mix,” Carroll added. “I’m trying to move the football.”
Coming from a man who, in his Seattle heyday, insisted on hitting the rock, that’s quite a statement.
The fact is, the Raiders haven’t moved the football, whether they’ve thrown or run the ball. That 18-drive touchdown streak isn’t even unusual for this Raiders team. According to NFL Research, Vegas is the only team to go at least 15 consecutive drives without a TD four different times in 2025.
It’s a bad offense. And everyone is to blame.
Whether or not Carroll and Kelly remain at the helm in 2026, this offense desperately needs an infusion of talent everywhere. In the meantime, trying to use the 6th overall pick as more than just a swing passer might not be a bad place to try to salvage the rest of the 2025 season.