Geno Smith Opens Raiders Tenure with Win

Sunday marked a new chapter for Geno Smith. And Smith settled into his first regular season game with his new team by leading the Raiders to a win.

In a back and forth game, Smith and the Raiders beat the New England Patriots 20-13 to open the season 1-0.

Smith threw for 362 yards with a pair of touchdowns and a pick. He also ran for 10 yards. As usual, Smith was efficient, completing 70.6% of his passes.

Well connected 🛜#LVvsNE | 📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/43Woxq0Z4Y

— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) September 7, 2025

Smith even became the first Las Vegas quarterback since 2023 to complete three or more passes of 20 plus yards in the first quarter.

QB Geno Smith completed three passes of 20+ yards in the first quarter – he is the first #Raiders QB to complete three passes of 20+ yards in the first quarter of a game since Week 15 of 2023 (Aidan O'Connell, 3).

— Raiders PR (@RAIDERS_PR) September 7, 2025

The Raiders traded for Smith after Seattle decided to go in another younger direction and eventually brought in Sam Darnold.

In his final season in Seattle, Smith threw for 4,320 yards while completing 70.4% of his passes. Smith also ran for 272 yards on the ground. He scored 23 total touchdowns to go along with 15 interceptions, his second highest total from a single season after his rookie year with the Jets.

Smith is now reunited with Pete Carroll, who was hired as the Raiders head coach earlier in the offseason.

“He’s been doing this now. Geno had a regular game today,” CarrolI said after Sunday’s game. “I don’t think it was a big statement game or anything like that. I just think that’s what he does. And we’ll do better than that. He’s got it in him to do better than that.”

Before being drafted in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Jets, Smith racked up 11,662 passing yards and 98 touchdowns across three years as the starting quarterback for WVU, including 42 passing touchdowns to just six interceptions during his senior year. He finished his career near the top of most statistical passing categories for the program, leading the Mountaineers to a trio of bowl games and an Orange Bowl win.

A 2013 second round pick of the Jets, Smith washed out of New York after two seasons as the starter, playing sparsely until 2022 when he earned the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year Award. From there, he caught on with the Seattle Seahawks, enjoying a career renaissance and putting up 71 passing touchdowns and more than 12,000 yards over the past three seasons.

He earned a three year, $75 million contract from the Seahawks ahead of 2023, then added a two year, $75 million extension from Las Vegas after landing there via trade in April 2025.

Find more coverage of Geno Smith at WV Sports Now.