It’s a feeling all too familiar for Las Vegas Raiders fans this time of year. At 2-6 heading into the second half of the 2025 season, the Raiders’ focus over the next nine weeks is on the future rather
than the current campaign or a potential playoff run. The good news is that Brock Bowers showed why he’s a franchise-building block last Sunday, as Bowers’ return is the primary topic in the Week 10 NFL Power Rankings across the league.
Sports Illustrated
26. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 27
I was ready to emotionally reinvest in the Raiders after seeing this offense with a full complement of playmakers. Brock Bowers put together one of the best tight end games I’ve seen in the last five years and has a straight-up freaky level of athleticism. Geno Smith was one touch throw away from having Vegas at a very manageable two games under .500. — Conor Orr
Everyone knew the Raiders were missing a big part of their offense without Bowers in the lineup, but there was something about seeing him dominate in his first game back that cemented how important the second-year pro is to the team. He was unstoppable against Jacksonville, and it will be interesting to see how Bowers performs against an elite defense on Thursday night against the Denver Broncos.
Bleacher Report
27. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 27
The Las Vegas Raiders showed on Sunday that they’re not punting on this season. Their offense got a big boost from Brock Bowers’ return, and the Raiders got a mostly good performance out of quarterback Geno Smith.
Las Vegas took the Jacksonville Jaguars to overtime in a back-and-forth battle and refused to play for a tie at the end of the extra period. After the teams traded overtime touchdowns and with mere seconds left on the clock, the Raiders tried to win it with a two-point conversion.
The attempt failed. As a result, Las Vegas fell to 2-6 and probably out of the playoff picture for good. However, Week 9 provided something on which they can build as they look to evaluate the roster over the second half of the season. — Kris Knox
The tight end is the biggest story from last Sunday, of course, but Smith also had his best performance since the season opener. The interception was bad, but he was efficient throughout the afternoon, posting a season-high 84.2 adjusted completion percentage according to Pro Football Focus. It certainly wasn’t a perfect outing from the quarterback, but it was encouraging.
The Athletic
26. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 28
Midseason grade: D
Optimism was high after bringing in Pete Carroll and making Chip Kelly the league’s highest-paid offensive coordinator. But the Raiders have lost five of their last six games, and now they’re finding ways to lose even when tight end Brock Bowers has a career game (12 catches, 127 yards, three touchdowns). — Chad Graff and Josh Kendall
Graff and Kendall are focusing on grading every team for its entire body of work during the first half of the campaign, where the autumn wind has blown away the belief in the Silver and Black. It’s hard to argue with the midseason grade, as Carroll has even said that he’s disappointed with how this season has played out. Also, Las Vegas didn’t open up the checkbook for Kelly to have the fourth-worst scoring offense in the league at 16.5 points per game.
ESPN
28. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 29
Most important game remaining: Week 11 at the Cowboys
The Raiders’ schedule doesn’t offer too many opportunities for them to go on a winning streak. That’s why their matchup against Dallas will be crucial. Las Vegas’ offense is trending in the right direction with the return of tight end Brock Bowers from a knee injury. And since the Cowboys have one of league’s worst defenses (31st in yards allowed at 404.6 per game), the Raiders could pull off an upset. Las Vegas will play Dallas and Cleveland in back-to-back weeks, but the schedule gets tougher after that. The Raiders’ final six games feature matchups against the Broncos, the Chargers, the Chiefs and the Eagles. — Ryan McFadden
Picking the “most important” game left on the schedule is an interesting exercise, given the state of the Raiders this season. One could argue that the matchup against the Cleveland Browns is more significant since both teams are jockeying for draft positioning and could be in the market for a quarterback this April. Granted, the real “winner” of the game is the team that loses when considering the big picture.
NFL.com
27. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 29
Pete Carroll made the right call going for two in overtime, even if the Raiders lost. This season is pretty much toast, but they had a chance to steal a game in front of fans who haven’t had much to applaud. Brock Bowers nearly carried his squad to victory, catching 12 passes on 13 targets for 127 yards and three TDs, also taking an end-around into the red zone in the fourth quarter. His second TD gave Las Vegas the lead in the final few minutes of regulation, and his OT score could have been the game-winner. Not bad for a guy who missed three games with a knee injury. But there was little else to cheer about, even with it being a one-score game throughout. — Eric Edholm
I completely agree that Carroll made the right decision to go for two and the win in overtime, and that shouldn’t be controversial at all. A tie would be worse than a loss in that scenario, because getting half a win would hurt Las Vegas’ draft positioning and hardly move the needle when it comes to the team’s already-thin playoff hopes.
I’d push back on the notion that there was little else to cheer about, though. If you’re on team tank, the game against the Jaguars is exactly what you want to see from the Raiders. It was a hard-fought contest where Bowers returned to form, and the team didn’t ruin its spot in the 2026 NFL draft order.
