LOS ANGELES -- The Las Vegas Raiders hoped the decision to move on from offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, with quarterbacks coach Greg Olson filling in as interim OC, would rejuvenate them during the final stretch of a dreadful regular season.
However, in Olson's first game with playcalling duties, a 31-14 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, the unit was plagued by the same issues. The Raiders were held to 31 rushing yards, while quarterback Geno Smith was under duress for the majority of the afternoon at SoFi Stadium.
The Raiders' 10th loss, which eliminated them from the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, was a reminder that significant changes will need to be made in the offseason.
"Offensively, to have an expectation that we're gonna flip-flop and all of the sudden be ripping, which we would have liked to have seen that, but that didn't happen," coach Pete Carroll said. "We're a ways away."
Carroll believed a change at OC was necessary. Under Kelly, he said, the team's performance had become "painful" to watch, leading to the firing of Kelly after last week's 24-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
He felt Olson, who was also the quarterbacks coach during Carroll's final season with the Seattle Seahawks in 2023, had a better understanding of what he wanted from an offensive standpoint. A part of that was improving on their lackluster rushing attack.
However, the Raiders' ground game looked more of the same. Rookie running back Ashton Jeanty had 15 carries for 31 yards and averaged 2.1 yards per attempt. His longest carry was a 9-yard gain in the second quarter. The first-round pick was stopped for negative yards on four attempts.
"Just maybe a better sequence of running plays to set up other plays during the game, but it still came down to executing at the end of the day," Jeanty said of the offense led by Olson.
Smith was 18-for-23 (78.3%) -- his highest completion rate of the season -- for 165 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He helped orchestrate the offense's best drive in recent weeks -- a 9-play, 82-yard scoring drive that ended with a game-tying touchdown catch by tight end Brock Bowers in the second quarter.
But Las Vegas was unable to replicate that success due to Smith being harassed by the Chargers' defense.
Smith was sacked five times and pressured on 43% of dropbacks (12-of-28) -- his second-highest mark in a game this season. The 35-year-old signal-caller has been sacked 25 times in the past four games.
Carroll said the team was "atrocious" on third down. The Raiders were 2-for-8 on third down, and Smith was sacked four times in those situations.
Despite Olson running the offense, Las Vegas is still handicapped by inconsistent offensive line play. The Raiders were down three starting linemen -- left tackle Kolton Miller (ankle), and guards Jackson Powers-Johnson (ankle) and Jordan Meredith (ankle).
Rookie Caleb Rogers started for the first time in his career but split reps with third-year lineman Atonio Mafi -- who was elevated from the practice squad. Carroll said both players deserved a shot based on how they performed in practice during the week.
"We wanted to get them on film and see what we can find out," Carroll added. "Really anxious to see what that looks like and we'll get back to it."
Carroll is optimistic that Miller, who was placed on the injured reserve on Sept. 30, will return before the season is over. But even before the offensive line was plagued with injuries, the unit struggled in both pass protection and run blocking -- a sign that the unit is in need of serious remodeling in the offseason.
Teams like the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears have shown the benefits in investing in the trenches.
Ahead of the 2025 campaign, the Bears reconstructed their offensive line by bringing in Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson and Drew Dalman. Chicago, which has the best record in the NFC at 9-3, is first in pass block win rate (72.8%) and fourth in run block win rate (73.6%).
The Broncos, winners of nine straight and Las Vegas' next opponent, has handed out long-term deals to right tackle Mike McGlinchey, left tackle Garett Bolles, guard Quinn Meinerz and recently center Luke Wattenberg since coach Sean Payton took over in 2023. Denver has given up the second-fewest sacks in the league (13).
Olson said before the Raiders' Week 13 loss that he wasn't expecting "wholesale" changes to the offensive scheme at this stage of the season. With matchups against Denver, the Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Texans in the next three weeks, the same could be said about the production.
"It's not fun. We come here to win games, obviously, and it hasn't been the case," Bowers said.