Geno Smith and the Raiders had 9 completions of 20+ yards today against the Patriots.
No other offense has had more than 5 such completions so far in Week 1.
— Sheil Kapadia (@SheilKapadia) September 7, 2025
Former UCLA head coach Chip Kelly put up an eye-catching stat with Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith against the New England Patriots last Sunday, which showed they can become a match made in heaven. According to Sheil Kapadia, Smith had five more completions of 20 or more yards against the Patriots with nine completions. Raiders Wire looked into the advanced statistics of Smith’s performance and the completion percentage of his difficult throws in week 1. Here’s what Raiders Wire had to say:
“The advanced statistics continue to support the narrative surrounding Smith’s performance,” Justin Melo of Raiders Wire wrote. “His average completed air yards (CAY) stands at a league-leading 9.3 yards per completion, according to Next Gen Stats. Smith attempted so many difficult throws that his completion percentage of 70.6 was nine points higher than his expected completion percentage (xCOMP%) of 61.6%, per NGS.”
According to ESPN, Smith’s stat line was 24-of-34 completed passes for 362 yards with an average of 10.6 yards per throw, a touchdown and an interception. Smith dominated in Kelly’s offense, especially with rookie running back Ashton Jeanty struggling to get going on the ground with only 38 yards.
That is an incredible stat for what used to be a dormant offense with an average of 18.2 points per game in 2024, according to ESPN. Smith is exactly the quarterback Kelly needs in his offense and with the two of them getting off to a hot start, it’s beginning to look like the new era of Raiders football will not just have an offense that’s along for the ride.