‘He’s smart, aggressive, consistent…’: Raiders coach Pete Carroll opens up ahead of showdown with Sean Payton — as Las Vegas looks to rebound from heartbreak and shock the AFC West leaders in a Thursday night clash that could change everything… - suong
After an overtime loss in Week 9 to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Las Vegas Raiders have a quick turnaround as they’ll face the Denver Broncos on “Thursday Night Football” to start Week 10.
Moreover, the matchup with the Broncos will see Raiders head coach Pete Carroll face a familiar face in Sean Payton, whom he faced several times in the NFC when the Denver head coach was with the New Orleans Saints.
While the playoffs look like an afterthought for the 2-6 Raiders, the Broncos sit atop the AFC West at 7-2. Denver will be the favorite in this contest, but when it comes to divisional games, the records of the two teams really don’t matter, which is what the Silver and Black should be telling itself.
Ahead of the game on November 6, Carroll was asked about what makes facing Payton a challenging task.
“He’s always been a really well-schooled group that he coaches,” Carroll told reporters on November 3
“When you played against him, they always had a real good conscience about running the football. So he’s got a really good mix. We’ve seen him for years utilize his personnel in unique ways that fit their style. There’s nothing about his game that isn’t on point. He’s smart, he’s aggressive, he’s consistent. They take care of the football. They’ve been doing that for a long time. That’s what’s made him consistently successful, I think.”
Brock Bowers Talks Raiders Loss to Jaguars
If the Raiders want a bounce-back win and upset the Broncos, one player who will need to replicate his Week 9 performance will be Brock Bowers. The Las Vegas tight end recorded 12 receptions for 127 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Although Bowers’s performance was outstanding, he didn’t hold back on how it felt to return to the field in a Raiders defeat.
“It’s not a great feeling,” Bowers said postgame (h/t
Geno Smith Is Happy to Have His Favorite Target Back
With Bowers back for the Raiders, quarterback Geno Smith once again had a reliable option over the middle, to
“He’s one of the best players on our team, one of the best players in the NFL,” Geno Smith said postgame (h/t Raiders.com). “He just makes my job so easy; he does everything
“A lot of those catches a lot of guys don’t make. You can just see his impact on the game when he’s out there. He’s such a dynamic player. At one point, they were double-teaming him, triple-teaming him trying to stop him and that just opens the field for the rest of the guys.”
‘They made the call…’: Raiders secretly reached out to Giants about trading for $24 million lineman Evan Neal — talks revealed after crushing Week 9 loss leaves Las Vegas reeling at 2-6 and facing major deadline decisions… - suong
The Las Vegas Raiders‘ Week 9 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars will likely inform how the team will act at the trade deadline. Had they won, it’s feasible that they would’ve considered trying to add players to make a late-season push.
However, the loss dropped the team to 2-6, which makes them a long shot to even get in the playoff mix. It’s more likely now that the Raiders end up being sellers at the deadline, but it sounds like they may have had their eye on one player.
Offensive lineman Evan Neal was highly touted coming out of Alabama and was drafted in the first round by the New York Giants in 2022. Unfortunately, injuries have derailed his career, and he’s fallen completely out of the Giants’ offensive line rotation. He has yet to play a game this season and is clearly on his way out, but he might be able to find new life at the deadline.
According to Exhibit News’ Josina Anderson, the Raiders have reached out to the Giants about Neal.
“One team the Giants had exploratory trade talks on regarding G Evan Neal was the Raiders,” Anderson wrote on X. “This occurred about one and a half, to two weeks ago, per league source. Evidently, it didn’t lead to urgent action, at said time. Nonetheless, it’s insight on who’s been inquiring….”
Should Raiders Trade for Neal?
It’s easy to look at the fact that Neal was a top-10 draft pick just a few years ago and get excited about his potential. However, the former Alabama star has not played well at the NFL level.
He can’t stay healthy and hasn’t looked great when he’s on the field. The Giants have had terrible offensive line play for years, so the fact that he can’t get any reps suggests that the team doesn’t think he’s very good.
There was even talk of him switching to guard, but the Giants haven’t played him, so it’s hard to know where he’d play. That said, he was a top-10 pick for a reason. It’s difficult to get better as an offensive lineman without reps. Perhaps there’s still some potential there. If the Raiders were to trade for him, it’s unlikely it would cost them much of anything. It’s not a move that moves the needle for the Raiders, but it also wouldn’t be a big risk.
Raiders Should Focus on Players That They Have
The Raiders have two third-round pick offensive linemen who haven’t gotten on the field much in Charles Grant and Caleb Rogers. If the team is thinking about giving reps to young offensive linemen, it should start with one of those two.
The offensive line played well against a solid Jaguars defense in Week 9, so it is hard to imagine they make any big moves right now, but Grant and Rogers should get a chance to play at some point this season. If either ends up being an impact player, that could give the Raiders more flexibility when the 2026 NFL Draft comes around.
