LAS VEGAS -- Quarterback Geno Smith suffered a right shoulder injury on Sunday, during the Las Vegas Raiders' 24-17 loss to the Denver Broncos at Allegiant Stadium. Raiders coach Pete Carroll said Smith's shoulder "locked up" after getting hit while completing a 3-yard pass to tight end Brock Bowers to close out the third quarter. Smith went into the locker room, and backup quarterback Kenny Pickett played for the entire fourth quarter. Pickett completed 8 of 11 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown.
Dan Graziano is a senior NFL national reporter for ESPN, covering the entire league and breaking news. Dan also contributes to Get Up, NFL Live, SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, Sunday NFL Countdown and Fantasy Football Now. He is a New Jersey native who joined ESPN in 2011, and he is also the author of two published novels. Oct 8, 2025, 06:30 AM ET
Geno Smith rebounded from that mistake. On the next drive, he connected with rookie wide receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr. for 20 yards. Though they made it down to the Chargers' 26 yard line, LA edge rusher Khalil Mack recorded his first sack of the season, which forced Las Vegas to settle for a 54-yard field goal and a 3-3 tie. Since being traded away from the Raiders in 2018, Mack has 12.5 sacks in nine games against the Silver and Black.
It's Jim Harbaugh versus Pete Carroll, a coaching rivalry that began when Harbaugh was at Stanford and Carroll was at USC, and continued with Harbaugh at the San Francisco 49ers and Carroll at the Seattle Seahawks. "You'd be friends," Harbaugh said. "You'd be almost like brothers if it wasn't for being on opposite sidelines. It's the kind of guy you'd send a Christmas card to, but you don't, because you're too busy trying to scratch each other's eyeballs out. Nature of the business. Dog-eat-dog."
