Geno Smith’s frustration hit a boiling point in that ugly 40–6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Midway through the third quarter, he tried to force one to rookie wideout Dont’e Thornton Jr., but the throw had trouble written all over it. A couple of defenders blanketed Thornton, and Colts corner Mekhi Blackmon read it perfectly. He jumped the route and took the interception 32 yards the other way to the Las Vegas Raiders’ 6-yard line. As soon as the play ended, Geno stormed to the sideline and slammed his helmet in pure frustration.

That pick was his second of the day. The other one was a tipped pass interception, summing up the Raiders’ struggles. Fast forward to now, and the former Raiders QB, Derek Carr, shared some words of wisdom for the QB.

“Let me say this to Geno Smith,” Carr started. “Geno, I understand the frustration. I understand the tip ball. It’s like, really, another tip ball that gets picked? Really, like, I understand the heart, the boiling, I understand. But guess what, Geno? You’re a good football player, all right? Don’t forget how well you played in some of these games. Don’t forget some of these throws that you’ve made, right? And here’s the most beautiful part about it all.

On Wednesday, they put that ball down, and you practice again. On Thursday, they put the ball down. On Friday, they put it down. On Saturday, they may put a ball down or a tennis ball, but you’re doing a walkthrough. And on Sunday, most importantly, all right, they’re putting that ball down. And you get to go out there and lead that football team again. And guess what?

Nobody believes in you more than me, right? I believe in you, I know the type of player you are, and I always said this when I was the Raiders’ quarterback: ‘I will never be the Raiders quarterback that leaves and bashes the one that’s playing.’ I’m telling you right now that I believe in you. I believe in you, I know that you can do it.”

Carr has spent almost a decade quarterbacking for the Raiders. So, there’s no denying that he knows a thing or two about frustrations. But in Geno’s case, it’s the interceptions that’re bothering the Raiders Nation, Pete Carroll, and Geno himself. Take the Colts’ game, for instance.

Late in the second quarter, Geno attempted to throw a pass, but the Colts’ DT Grover Stewart tipped it, and Laiatu Latu came down with the interception. And that was just one disastrous drive in what’s shaping up to be a very long, ugly season.

Across five weeks, Geno Smith has thrown a league high 9 interceptions. It’s the most by any Raiders QB in the team’s first five games of a season since Jim Plunkett in 1982 (9). He started very well in the team’s season opener, sure. But across five weeks, he’s thrown multiple picks on three instances.

The signs are clear: Geno has been awful to start his Raiders’ tenure under Carroll. The real twist, though? Derek Carr believes in him. And yes, the head coach is also defending him.

Pete Carroll defends Geno Smith

Geno Smith kicked off his Raiders’ tenure with a promising outing. We’re talking about 24 of 34 (70.6%) passes for 362 yards, a touchdown, an interception, and a 67.8 QBR. But after that, everything went south. In the Raiders’ four-game losing streak, the QB has completed 82 of 129 passes (63.6%) for 814 yards, five touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He has a quarterback rating of 30.3 (third worst behind Jake Browning and Joe Flacco).

To put it in perspective, Geno’s been having trouble stretching the field, too. Between 2022 and 2024, he was cruising with a 109.2 passer rating and 52.7% completion on throws traveling 10+ yards downfield, per ESPN. Fast forward to 2025? ugly. Just 39.3% completion and a 51.9 passer rating.

However, if you ask the head coach… well, he’d defend his QB and throw the run-game under the bus.

“We got to run the football better, and more. We’re going to continue to work at it and see if we can continue to bring it to life,” Carroll said on Wednesday’s pressers. “The running game has looked well, in order, right now. We need to get more of it. That’s part of it. That’s just mixing football. That’s how you do it.

“We don’t want to ever rely on the quarterback to have to do the whole show and sitting in the shotgun, and throw the football. I’ve never coached that way. And, so, we have to mix out stuff so that we can use our play-action game. … We got to make sure that we’re calling all the best stuff in the situations. (Smith’s) not calling plays. We got to call them and we got to make sure to get him in the right spots and give him the best chance to stay out of harm’s way.”

Carroll targeted Chip Kelly’s run game, considering the OC’s play calling has been an issue at some point. But that doesn’t mean Geno Smith’s struggles can be overlooked. After all, his passing game has been a mixed bag at best. His completion sits around 65–66%, which is decent but far from elite, while his passing yards average just over 210 per game.

It’s enough to move the chains, but not consistently carry the offense. Add nine picks to it, and the struggles, along with the frustration, are tangible. But we’ll see how things work out in Week 6.