TC Martin

Raiders Lose 5th Straight, Kelly Fired

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The Las Vegas Raiders have possibly reached a new low in losing their fifth straight game and ninth in their last 10 contests.  This time it was to a team just as bad as them as the Cleveland Browns rolled into Allegiant Stadium and dominated the home team with a rookie quarterback making his first career start.  

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Shedeur Sanders led Cleveland to a 24-10 victory, but the real difference maker was Myles Garrett and the Browns defense, sacking Geno Smith 10 times.  Garrett had three himself, bringing his league leading season total to 18 while breaking the franchise record and leading a ferocious defense to an easy victory. 

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Sanders was the 42nd starting quarterback since the team's return to Cleveland in 1999.  He wasn't spectacular but he was efficient enough to beat a hapless Raiders team.  Sanders finished with 209 yards and touchdown pass.  It ended a three-game losing streak by the Browns who improved to 3-8 and also ended a 17-game losing streak by Cleveland QB's making their first start. 

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The Raiders punted eight times, turned it over on downs twice and lost a fumble.  Losing to the lowly Browns prompted head coach Pete Carroll to fire offensive coordinator, Chip Kelly after the game. 

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Las Vegas is tied for last in the NFL in points per game (15), 30th in total yards per game (269), 31st in rushing per game (80 yards), 28th in red zone efficiency (48%). The Raiders have scored fewer than 10 points in four games which the most in the NFL.

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Kelly was supposed to be the fixer of a Raiders offense which has gotten progressively worse each of the past three seasons.  Kelly failed as an NFL head coach with Philadelphia and San Francisco but resurrected his career as the offensive coordinator of Ohio State.  The Buckeyes won the national championship last year.  

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Kelly was the highest paid offensive coordinator in the NFL with a salary of $6 million per year.  Kelly is the third coach to let go by Carroll this season as Senior offensive assistant Bob Bicknell was also fired at the same time.  Bicknell was an assistant with Kelly in Philadelphia and San Francisco and were closely joined at the hip.  Special Teams Coordinator, Tom McMahon was let go on November 7th who had been with the Raiders since 2022. 

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The Raiders (2-9) schedule doesn't get any easier as they face the Chargers, Broncos and Eagles the next three weeks. They also have dates with the Texans and Chiefs, and it is conceivable that this team doesn't win another game this season. The lone losing team remaining on their schedule is the New York Giants.