Raiders Snap 10-Game Losing Streak, Slip To Pick No. 6: ‘We Don’t Do This To Lose’

The Las Vegas Raiders moved to 3-12 on the season Sunday, carving out a five-point win over the struggling Jacksonville Jaguars. Their fans? Unhappy, to say the least.

The Raiders have used three quarterbacks this year – Gardner Minshew, former backup for the Eagles, Aidan O’Connell, who backed up Derek Carr for the Raiders, and Desmond Ridder, who was unceremoniously relieved of his starting duties in Atlanta.

While Minshew seems the most successful of the bunch, with the highest completion percentage and nine touchdowns, his stats belie ten interceptions and 29 sacks – disproportionate even compared to his counterparts. The other quarterbacks haven’t been much more successful, and the Raiders’ biggest rusher, Alexander Mattison, has just 30.7 yards per game.

For the most part, the only bright spot for the team has been Offensive Rookie Of The Year contender Brock Bowers, the first-round tight end who has over 1,000 receiving yards through 15 games.

Besides the season ending, Raiders fans have looked with anticipation to the 2025 NFL Draft, hoping to acquire another rookie sensation (preferably a quarterback). Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward, as the two top quarterback prospects in the nation, are obvious targets for the Raiders if they secure an early spot in the draft – which they seemed primed to do, coming into Sunday.

The Raiders had lost ten straight and sat in slot number two, at which point they would be able to snag one of the top two quarterbacks. Instead, they won – and dropped to pick no. 6.

“We don’t do this to lose,” said head coach Antonio Pierce following the game. “We don’t do this for anybody’s fantasy football team. We don’t do this for anybody’s draft projections. None of that s— matters to us. The only thing that matters is winning, and that’s all we want to do.”

Whether a late-season win will help the Raiders in the long term is doubtful. At present, the Giants, Patriots, Jaguars, Browns and Titans are all slated to pick before them. The Giants, who have the presumptive no. 1 pick, will almost definitely pick a quarterback. Even if Las Vegas loses out in the last two weeks, they’ll need help from other teams to move closer to pick no. 1.

The Raiders play the New Orleans Saints (5-9) this Sunday, who have endured recent struggles of their own, before closing out the regular season against the Los Angeles Chargers (9-6).

The 2025 NFL Draft is scheduled for April 24-26, 2025.

Article by Katherine Manz