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Ryan McFaddenSep 16, 2025, 08:44 PM<\/p>\n
Close<\/a>Ryan McFadden covers the Las Vegas Raiders for ESPN’s NFL Nation. Prior to ESPN, McFadden was a Denver Broncos beat reporter for the Denver Post. McFadden also wrote about the Baltimore Ravens and University of Maryland athletics for The Baltimore Sun.<\/p>\n LAS VEGAS — Geno Smith<\/a>‘s fearlessness in throwing the ball into tight windows can be a gift and a curse. It was the latter in the Raiders’ 20-9 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers<\/a> on Monday night.<\/p>\n One of the few chances the Raiders had to start a comeback came to a halt due to Smith being overly aggressive. Facing a third-and-15 with 6:05 to go in the fourth quarter, Jakobi Meyers<\/a> faced double coverage, yet Smith tried to connect with the veteran wide receiver. Smith’s pass was deflected by safety Derwin James<\/a> and picked off by Donte Jackson<\/a>.<\/p>\n “I’m not supporting some of the choices there,” coach Pete Carroll said. “I need to see what happened, though. I want to see if he had other options.”<\/p>\n At Allegiant Stadium, Smith went 24 for 43 for 180 yards, with three interceptions and a passer rating of 37. Each interception throw followed a similar pattern: Ill-advised and momentum-draining.<\/p>\n On the game’s first play, he tried to complete a pass to wide receiver Tre Tucker<\/a>, but Chargers safety Alohi Gilman<\/a> tipped the ball, and it was intercepted by linebacker Daiyan Henley<\/a>.<\/p>\n Following Justin Herbert<\/a>‘s 60-yard touchdown pass to Quentin Johnston<\/a>, which gave the Chargers a 17-6 lead late in the second quarter, Las Vegas needed Smith to orchestrate a successful two-minute drive. Four plays in, however, Smith made a risky move when targeting Dont’e Thornton Jr<\/a>. He rolled to the right, evading pressure, and threw to the rookie wide receiver near the goal line, where the ball was tipped and picked off by safety Tony Jefferson<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Those are things that I got to learn from and be better at,” Smith said. “Anything that doesn’t look right out there, [I] put that on my shoulders. I feel like I got to be a lot better for our guys. I know I have to, and I will be.”<\/p>\n Since Smith became a starter in 2022 with the Seattle Seahawks<\/a>, he has been an effective deep ball thrower. In the past three seasons, Smith had a passer rating of 109.2 on throws for 10-plus air yards. Against the New England Patriots<\/a> in Week 1, Smith was 4 for 5 for 120 yards, a touchdown and a passer rating of 158.3 on deep pass attempts (20-plus air yards).<\/p>\n The Chargers’ rigid defense flipped the narrative. Smith was 0-for-12 on throws of 10+ air yards — tied for the most attempts without a completion since ESPN began tracking every NFL game in 2006.<\/p>\n Carroll thought the team was impatient in the passing game, leading to Smith forcing deep throws.<\/p>\n “I know that the picks are a big issue, but that’s not my concern,” Carroll said. “My concern is why we didn’t get the bulk thrown and caught underneath, and we wound up taking those shots.”<\/p>\n As a whole, the Raiders struggled offensively, ruining a strong second-half performance from the defense. The unit held Los Angeles to three points in the second half and kept the game within reach.<\/p>\n