HENDERSON, Nev. — Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly defended his playcalling Thursday, a day after coach Pete Carroll critiqued the offense by saying it should run the ball more and incorporate more play-action.
“I mean, that’s what our game plan is every game,” Kelly said.
“When you get in the second half, that skews. But we had 25 attempts last week in the game [a 40-6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts]. There was real balance in the first half of the football game when it was a close game. I think it gets out of hand, so when you look at some of the numbers, I think we had 25 rushing attempts and 36 passing attempts at the end of the day. But in the first half, it was really even.”
Against the Colts, Geno Smith completed 25 of 36 passes for 228 yards and 2 interceptions. It was his third game with multiple picks.
“We don’t want to ever rely on the quarterback having to do the whole show and sitting in a shotgun, throw the football,” Carroll said Wednesday. “I never coached that way. … We got to make sure that we’re calling all the best stuff in the situations.”
Entering the season, Carroll wanted the Raiders to be run-heavy, hoping to take the pressure off Smith. That’s part of the reason the organization used the sixth pick in April’s NFL draft to select running back Ashton Jeanty.
In recent weeks, the Raiders have made strides in the run game. They’ve averaged 173 yards in the past two games after totaling just 72.3 in the first three. Jeanty has totaled 264 yards from scrimmage during that stretch.
However, the Raiders still have relied heavily on Smith’s arm to win games, largely because they’ve mostly trailed in them.
Carroll’s criticism of Smith being in the shotgun is fair. He has lined up there on 85.1% of his dropbacks compared with 11.2% under center. At the same time, Kelly — who is in his first season in Las Vegas after spending 2024 as the offensive coordinator at Ohio State — is known for his extensive use of shotgun formations.
“I mean, [Smith is] not calling the plays,” Carroll said. “We got to call them, and we got to make sure and get him in the right spots and give him the best chance to stay out of harm’s way. And part of that is really controlling the game with what we do up front in the running game.”
Kelly’s time away from the NFL taught him to adapt. He was known for his up-tempo, high-scoring offenses as coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and Oregon Ducks. But at Ohio State, he orchestrated an efficient offense despite slowing the pace. The Buckeyes ranked 14th in FBS in points (35.69) but were 120th in plays per game (61.8) and 18th in time of possession per play (29.4 seconds).
“I think we’ve evolved that way, just because I think the game itself has evolved,” Kelly said at his introductory news conference in February.
“I think that’s really one of the biggest things, going from those five-wides, fast, no-huddle, breakneck speed, shiny helmets, to getting in a huddle and playing with 12 personnel is a little bit different. But you still get the same amount of points when you get the ball across the goal line, whether you run it across or throw it across. So, we’re just trying to get some first downs and score some points.”
Through five games, the Raiders are 20th in the league in rushing yards (112.6), 16th in passing yards (210.2) and 30th in points (16.6). Smith has completed just 106 of 183 passes (65%) for 1,176 yards, 8 touchdowns and a league-high 9 interceptions. He also has a passer rating of 75.6.
Despite Smith’s turnover issues, Kelly said the 34-year-old signal-caller has played “really well” for the team. Kelly called Smith a “hell of a quarterback” and said he’s excited about Smith’s future in Las Vegas.
“I think sometimes not all interceptions are the same,” Kelly said. “You’ve got to kind of look at where they are and how they did it. … I think when you get into the second half [against Indianapolis], you had the one interception that I think we can put him in a better position as a coaching staff in those situations.”
