It is known that last season was not the best for the Las Vegas Raiders. They had a revolving door of starting quarterbacks, and whichever was on the field, the success was limited, as the franchise finished the season with a 4-13 record. A record that warranted a complete change of leadership and players.
Between Gardner Minshew, Aidan O'Connell, and Desmond Ridder, the three totaled 19 passing touchdowns, which isn't outstanding. While some may just call last season one of the down seasons for the Raiders, this has been a decade-long trend that the Raiders look to end going into 2025.
Since 2015, Raider quarterbacks haven't been able to reach 30 or more passing touchdowns. The last to do so was Derek Carr, where he surpassed 30 and threw 32 that season, which was the highest in his professional career.
This fact could be a large reason as to why the Raiders franchise hasn't won a playoff game since 2002, regardless of making the playoffs twice since then. Quarterbacks must make plays on offense that result in touchdowns, or their impact on the game goes for not.
The closest that a Raider quarterback has been to passing more than 30 touchdowns since 2015 came in the year that followed, as Carr threw for 28 touchdowns. This stat only proves the importance of having a quarterback who can make something out of nothing, which they are hoping to get from Geno Smith.
Smith has never been a quarterback with high passing touchdown numbers, but he has touched the 30 mark once in his career, coming back in 2022 with the Seattle Seahawks. With the likes of Brock Bowers, Jakobi Meyers, and Jack Bech representing the wide receiving room, Smith might be the quarterback to end this decade-long drought.
While the importance of how many touchdown passes a quarterback throws doesn't always correlate to the success of the franchise, it helps give more credibility. However, the Raiders ranked 30th last season in passing touchdowns, a statistic they won't want to boast.
