Bank on the Raiders or Bail Now? What You Need to Know Before the Fantasy Season Finale. DH
The Las Vegas Raiders’ offense is floundering at the worst time for fantasy football managers across the NFL.
The Las Vegas Raiders’ 2025 NFL season is over. Through the first 13 weeks, they’ve gone just 2-10 in the first year of the Pete Carroll era. It used to be known as the Pete Carroll-Chip Kelly era, but the second half of that designation didn’t last very long, as the former USC legend was given the boot after just 11 games. In his place,
Carroll elevated Greg Olson to take over as the Raiders’ offensive coordinator for the third time in his career.
While they’ve been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, this team still has a lot to play for. They need to prove in the last few weeks of the season that they can build a winner out of this disappointing core, with Carroll, Geno Smith, and Ashton Jeanty. So far, this fanbase has little hope for this iteration of the Raiders. The same goes for their fantasy managers, most of whom are likely entering a critical final game of their regular season.
What can the Raiders do in rematch with Broncos?
1. Geno Smith
Geno Smith didn’t do much in his first game under new offensive coordinator Greg Olson. He still took six sacks and threw an interception against the Los Angeles Chargers last week. He nearly had a second turnover, but the defense couldn’t take possession of his fumble.
Anyone who’s banking on Smith for their fantasy regular-season finale has to be in dire straits. In Week 14, the Las Vegas Raiders play the Denver Broncos for the second time this year, this time with Olson calling the plays instead of Chip Kelly. In their first matchup, Smith scored just 5.4 points, throwing for just 143 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception on 16-of-29 passing, while getting sacked six times. He’s likely to improve on that pitiful performance, but don’t expect much, even with Olson at the helm.
2. Ashton Jeanty
Ashton Jeanty had a discouraging showing in his first game with Olson. Against the Chargers, he finished with just 61 total yards and was completely shut out of the end zone. However, he did garner 21 touches, which is more than he could say for many of his outings under Chip Kelly.
LA’s defense negated the Raiders’ rushing attack, and the Broncos have the capabilities to do the same. The first time Las Vegas played Denver, Jeanty averaged just 3.2 yards per carry, but a touchdown did save his fantasy week.
If Olson wants to earn the promotion from interim to full-time offensive coordinator, he’ll have to prove that he can capitalize on Jeanty’s talents. Getting a big performance out of him versus a stout Broncos defense would go a long way.
