The Las Vegas Raiders‘ Week 11 loss to the Dallas Cowboys sparked chaos amid the team chemistry. While their head coach, Pete Carroll, tried to defend the team’s offensive unit amid fans’ frustration, their running back, Ashton Jeanty, wasn’t ready to take the blame. Holding the line against media questions, the 21-year-old affirmed that the loss came because of the coaching team’s decision-making lapses.

“I don’t call the plays. That’s up to the guys upstairs,” Jeanty said during a post-game press conference. Expressing disappointment about his own and the team’s performance this season, he admitted to the fact that things are “not going the way” he wanted.

The recent game against the Cowboys recorded minimal contribution from Jeanty. The 21-year-old could rush for just 7 yards on 6 carries. Their quarterback, Geno Smith, still managed to secure satisfactory numbers. Completing 64.3% of the total passes, the 35-year-old covered 238 yards with 1 touchdown. However, despite the consistent losses, their head coach still maintained composure, saving the team from any individual blame.

“This was the best way we thought to do it,” he said, making it clear that the recent game’s offensive strategy was the best he could plan. With this loss, the Raiders’ picture in the playoffs seems quite distorted. With just 2 wins and 8 disappointing losses, the team looks forward to a tough schedule ahead. However, their upcoming clash against the Cleveland Browns could be a glimmer of hope as the latter also stands with a similar 2-8 win-loss record.

Several factors contributed to the conclusive verdict from Pete Carroll (taking the blame on himself). One of them turned out to be his decision to place Will Putnam and Jordan Meredith in the opening positions.

Pete Carroll explains his unusual decision

While his strategy aimed at trying out new combinations that could fix the team’s concerning status, the outcome made him open up about the only reason why he was willing to experiment.

“The competition during the time this week, and what’s been happening the last two weeks. We’ve been looking at it. We tried combinations, we looked at all of it, and felt like that was the best way we could go. Jordan [Meredith] had a really solid season at guard last year, and he felt really comfortable moving. We tried Caleb [Rogers]. You guys were following that, and we looked at some different combinations, and this was the best way we thought we could do it,” Carroll said.

The current situation is turning out to be destructive for the Raiders. Holding stakes for the team since team 2024, Tom Brady also regretted his decision, extending an ask to sell them out. However, it remains to be seen if Carroll manages to formulate a life-saving plan for the team ahead of Week 12.