Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith had a nightmare game in the 20-9 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on September 15 at Allegiant Stadium.
Smith went 24-of-43 for 180 yards, threw three interceptions, and couldn’t find the end zone, making it a frustrating night for the veteran.
After the Raiders‘ Week 2 loss, FS1 host Colin Cowherd expressed doubts about whether Pete Carroll and Smith make a convincing pairing. He suggested the pairing might be more out of convenience than the Raiders getting the quarterback they really wanted.
“I think Geno Smith and Pete Carroll are a weird pairing,” Cowherd said on the September 16 edition of “The Herd.” “Pete hates interceptions. And Geno is careless. He always has been. If you speed him up [like against the Chargers], three picks… I think it was a marriage of convenience. Chip Kelly was very familiar with Geno Smith. Pete Carroll was familiar with Geno Smith, but I don’t think he was their first or second choice…
“If you speed Geno up, he makes some bad decisions. And in New York, he was a disaster. In Seattle, it was a reclamation and a great story. But a great story doesn’t mean a great quarterback. So I think Pete Carroll and Chip Kelly are a little trapped here. They wanted [Matthew] Stafford. I think privately, they’d never admit it. They probably thought [Sam] Darnold, younger, in his prime, with some career momentum. But this is what they’ve got.”
Geno Smith Vows to Get Better After Loss
Instead of brushing off Monday Night Football and looking ahead to Week 3, Smith told reporters after the game that he plans to study what went wrong and learn from it.
“I’ve got to learn from it,“ Smith said. “You know what I mean? This game is all about learning from your experiences. This is a game—again, I’ve had similar games in the past where the ball has bounced in an unfortunate way, or decisions haven’t [been] the best on a given play, or the best throw. That’s a part of the game.
“But you can never just say you can flush it. You’ve got to learn from it. I’m going to be super hard on myself—extremely hard on myself—because that’s all I know. I’m going to get better this week; I’m going to find ways to get better from, and we’ll be better as a team as well.”
Are the Raiders Relying Too Much on the Passing Game?
Las Vegas had a tough time running the ball against the Chargers, with the offensive line struggling to create openings. Jeanty led the Raiders with just 43 rushing yards, followed by Geno Smith with 20 and Tre Tucker with seven.
Overall, it was a disappointing night for the Silver and Black’s ground game, something they’ll need to fix going forward. The loss also exposed a bigger problem: Relying on Smith to throw over 40 times didn’t work against Los Angeles, leading to three costly interceptions from the veteran quarterback.
It will be interesting to see if in Week 3 the Raiders decide to lean on the ground game and cut back on the number of passes Smith attempts.
Raiders Get Concerning Geno Smith Take From Colin Cowherd