Pete Carroll Delivers Crucial Updates on Raiders’ Playoff Push: ‘We’re Ready for the Final Stretch and Will Fight for Every Win’
Las Vegas, NV – October 15, 2025 — Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll has provided crucial updates regarding the remainder of the team's season, offering insights into the team’s goals, challenges, and plans moving forward. With the Raiders in the thick of the playoff race, Carroll highlighted several key aspects that will determine how the team approaches the final stretch of the year.
“Right now, we’re focused on taking it one game at a time,” Carroll said in a press conference. “We’ve been through ups and downs, but we’re in a good position to make a strong push. There’s still a lot of football left to be played, and we’re ready to fight for every win.”
Carroll emphasized the importance of consistency and discipline as the Raiders head into the latter part of the season. “We need to make sure we’re executing at a high level in all three phases of the game. We’ve shown flashes of greatness, but we need to put it all together to make a serious run,” he continued.
With several key players dealing with injuries, including star linebacker Maxx Crosby, Carroll noted that depth and adaptability will be crucial in the coming weeks. “We’ve got guys stepping up, and that’s been a huge part of our success. The next man up mentality is something we live by, and we’re going to need it now more than ever,” Carroll added.
As the Raiders continue to push toward the playoffs, Carroll remains confident in his team’s ability to rise to the occasion. “We’ve got the talent, and we’ve got the mindset,” he said. “We’re excited for the challenges ahead, and we know what we need to do to get where we want to be.”
With the team’s playoff hopes hanging in the balance, all eyes will be on the Raiders as they strive to close out the season strong under Carroll’s leadership.
NHL Must Throw the Book at Capitals’ Goon Tom Wilson
The National Hockey League needs to step in and protect its players from unabashed cheap-shot artists like Washington Capitals right wing Tom Wilson.
On Sunday, Wilson lined up an easy target in Vancouver Canucks center Filip Chytil. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Wilson delivered a heavy, blindside hit on Chytil near the end of the first period.
With the Capitals trailing 3-0, Wilson decided to take out his frustration on an unsuspecting and helpless Chytil, who had just released the puck on a neutral-zone rush.
Chytil did not return to the game. The 26-year-old has a history of concussions and needed to be helped off the ice.
After review, no penalty was called on the play, and it was announced as “a clean hit.”
Back on Mar. 15, Chytil suffered his fifth career concussion when he was on the receiving end of a brutal hit from behind from Chicago Blackhawks center Jason Dickinson. No supplemental discipline was issued to Dickinson from the NHL Department of Player Safety.
Dickinson skated away scot-free. Chytil would miss the remainder of the 2024-25 season. Does that seem fair in any kind of way?
It’s Time to Get Serious About Player Safety
Now, it’s possible that Chytil may have suffered a sixth career concussion due to the whiplash nature of Wilson’s hit. At some point, Chytil will need to end his career prematurely because the NHL refuses to adequately protect the health and safety of its players.
Too Often, Greats Have Hung up Their Skates Prematurely
Calling it the Department of Player Safety is a joke. Who are they keeping safe here? It seems like they’re doing a lot more to ensure that the goons are safe from discipline rather than actually protecting the guys who play it clean.
Too often, we’ve seen great players have their careers shortened by repeated concussions.
Former No. 1 overall pick Rick Nash was one of the league’s brightest stars during a career spent mostly with the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers.
Nash suffered at least three known concussions – and probably sustained several other traumatic brain injuries that went undiagnosed throughout his 15 years in the NHL.
While a member of the Boston Bruins, Nash suffered the final concussion of his career when he was hit high by Tampa Bay Lightning center Cedric Paquette on Mar. 17, 2018.
Earlier that season, Paquette served a one-game suspension for boarding then-Bruin Torey Krug. That slap on the wrist punishment did nothing to deter Paquette from ending Nash’s career.
Nash initially waited for his concussion symptoms to fade before he ultimately retired from the league prematurely at age 34.
Paul Kariya, Eric Lindros and Pat LaFontaine are among Hockey Hall of Famers to have their careers shortened by repeated concussions and post-concussion syndrome.
Kariya was asked by TSN’s Michael Farber in 2017 about the possibility of the league hiring someone like him to work for NHL Player Safety.
“That’s a question for the league,” Kariya responded.
In the same interview, Kariya pointed to the need for the league to take head shots more seriously.
“I think today we’re in a way better spot (than) when I retired,” he said. “Things are moving in the right direction, but still those targeted head shots are still in the game. And for me, there’s no reason to have that in the game.”
Currently, the NHL Department of Player Safety is run by former enforcer George Parros. The 45-year-old recorded just 36 points across 474 career regular season games, while being whistled for 1,092 penalty minutes.
Having Parros as the head of NHL Player Safety feels a bit like inmates running the asylum. Maybe there would be actual change if someone whose career was cut short by head shots like Kariya, Nash or Marc Savard was in charge.
It's long overdue for the NHL to finally get serious about concussions and player safety.
