Tom Brady’s Part-time Side Hustle With The Raiders Is An Unholy Mess

Tom Brady played for 23 NFL seasons pinch a single, maniacal goal: to go nan top backmost who ever lived. He achieved it. Now, successful retirement, Brady has dabbled successful everything. He calls games for Fox. He’s building chimneys successful Birmingham. He’s flogged crypto. He’s spreading America’s Game to Riyadh. He has a thriving YouTube account. He cloned his dog. Brady’s post-playing portfolio has been diverse, aliases aimless, depending connected your perspective.

Side hustles are 1 thing. But moving a pro franchise is not a part-time job. Along pinch his different roles, Brady is besides nan de facto shot czar of nan Raiders, nan astir hapless squad successful nan league.

The Raiders dropped to 2–9 connected Sunday aft being waxed 24-10 by nan Browns. The Raiders didn’t conscionable lose; they were embarrassed by a bad squad pinch a backmost making his first NFL start. The Raiders’ discourtesy averaged 2.9 yards a play earlier garbage clip successful nan 4th quarter. Geno Smith was sacked 10 times and was pressured 46 times, a single-game precocious for immoderate squad this season. On defense, Las Vegas talented up chunk plays to a Cleveland discourtesy that has been dysfunctional for astir of nan season. Any measurement you portion it, it was a beatdown. At slightest Brady didn’t person to watch. The designer of nan latest Vegas messiness was sitting successful Dallas connected nan Fox broadcast for Eagles-Cowboys.

In fairness to Brady, he has only spent 1 play starring nan team’s shot decisions, becoming a number proprietor of nan franchise successful 2024. But he was responsible for each awesome determination past offseason, and each of them person backfired. Those moves person near nan Raiders arsenic nan astir unwatchable and directionless franchise successful nan league.

This wasn’t expected to beryllium a multi-year rebuild. The Raiders didn’t prosecute 74-year-old Pete Carroll, 1 of only 3 coaches to triumph some a Super Bowl and a assemblage nationalist championship, to oversee a agelong slog backmost up nan standings. He was expected to return nan squad to relevance and past manus them disconnected pinch a coagulated instauration successful place. Instead, Carroll is staring astatine nan anticipation of being one-and-done successful Vegas, and nan Raiders are looking astatine another reboot.

This isn’t each Brady’s fault, of course. Mark Davis is still nan mostly owner. Davis has churned done coaches and front-office heads astatine a velocity that would make moreover nan Jets blush. The Raiders are connected their seventh coach and 5th wide head successful 15 years, a turnover complaint that has erased immoderate coherent semipermanent vision. Still, it’s Brady’s fingerprints that are each complete this iteration of nan Raiders. “This is nan Tom Brady show,” NFL Insider Tom Pelissero said past offseason. “He’s been integrally involved,” Carroll said of Brady astatine his introductory news convention successful January. “This is his opportunity to put his stamp connected a franchise.”

Brady made nan cardinal hires and group nan Raiders connected this rudderless course. He hired John Spytek, his assemblage buddy and workfellow successful Tampa, to service arsenic wide manager. He greenlit a roster scheme to Carroll’s preference, including trading a third-round prime for Smith and drafting a moving backmost No 6 wide contempt having a bottom-tier violative line. He lured Chip Kelly distant from nan assemblage ranks, making him nan highest-paid violative coordinator successful nan league. And he signed disconnected connected handing a flaky violative statement – nan bedrock for that coordinator and moving backmost – to Carroll’s son.

It’s been a disaster. Last season’s Raiders were a four-win team, but they were scrappy and competitive. This year’s Raiders are a confused mess. Carroll has installed an outdated protect philosophy, Smith looks washed and nan Raiders’ violative statement has submarined immoderate hopes for Ashton Jeanty and nan tally game. If thing else, Caroll was expected to bring energy. But nan Raiders were lifeless connected Sunday, counting down nan plays to nan extremity of nan game.

The opposition pinch Cleveland was stark. Things are ever bleak pinch nan Browns, but location are embers of hope. Myles Garrett, now conscionable 5 sacks distant from nan NFL single-season record, leads a formidable defense. And location is optimism astir nan stellar-looking rookie people that includes 2 imaginable stars – Quinshon Judkins astatine moving backmost and Carson Schwesinger astatine linebacke. There is besides Shedeur Sanders, who whitethorn not beryllium The Answer astatine quarterback, but who is An Answer successful nan short-term.

Granted, it was nan Raiders’ defense, but Sanders showed that nan shape was not excessively large for him. With a afloat week to prepare, he was solid, taking what nan defense gave him and showing flashes of creativity. Sanders became nan first Browns rookie backmost to triumph his first commencement since 1995.

Sanders and nan remainder of nan Browns’ rookie people correspond promise. That’s a reflector nan Raiders don’t want to look into. Good organizations understand their position successful nan ecosystem: you’re either a contender, a frisky playoff team, aliases rebuilding. Vegas entered 2025 believing they were a mates of moves distant from respectability. Despite nan overwhelming grounds otherwise, they haven’t pivoted midstream. Like Cleveland, Vegas should beryllium throwing retired rookies to find retired what they person for nan future. But only 2 rookies person seen existent playing time. There has reportedly already been hostility betwixt nan coaching unit and nan beforehand agency regarding nan deficiency of action for 2 rookie violative linemen, contempt nan o-line being a sieve. Rookie receivers Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton Jr person mixed for 9 catches successful 11 games, contempt nan deficiency of spark successful nan passing game. Carroll continues to rotation retired grizzled vets connected defense complete rookies successful request of reps.

What is nan way forward? Will Carroll beryllium backmost aliases Spytek aliases Smith? And who really makes those decisions, Brady aliases Davis? How tin a squad run erstwhile its astir powerful decision-maker logs successful occasionally, signs disconnected franchise-altering moves, and past vanishes connected broadside quests?

It’s going to beryllium a struggle for nan Raiders to amended – and they are successful a section stacked pinch perennial playoff contenders. Meanwhile, different rebuilders person paths. The Jets are stocked pinch early draught picks. The Titans and Giants person promising young quarterbacks. The Raiders person nothing. No core. No quarterback. No identity. No plan.

The only point much vulnerable than being bad successful nan NFL is not knowing you’re bad. The Raiders don’t cognize wherever they are, what they are building, aliases who will telephone nan shots successful nan offseason.

Tom Brady erstwhile mastered shot done ruthless focus. The Raiders could usage much than an hr of it.

MVP of nan week

Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Detroit Lions. The Lions survived a bananas crippled from Jameis Winston, arsenic they hit nan Giants 34-27 successful overtime to amended to 7-4 connected nan season. The Giants exposed cracks passim nan Lions’ roster, but Gibbs dragged Detroit retired nan mud. Gibbs vanished pinch 264 scrimmage yards and 3 touchdowns connected conscionable 26 touches, including a 69-yard game-sealing score.

Jahmyr Gibbs was nan quality betwixt nan Lions and Giants connected Sunday. Photograph: Rey Del Rio/AP

No 1 successful nan convention moves rather for illustration Gibbs. If you’re putting together a database of nan NFL’s champion pound-for-pound players, he’s correct location pinch Garrett, Micah Parsons and Bijan Robinson. Of each nan league’s backs, he whitethorn beryllium nan astir complete. He tin tally routes for illustration a receiver and listen betwixt nan tackles, is an explosive one-cut-and-go backmost and past is electrical pinch nan shot successful his hands. Gibbs added to his clasp complete nan league’s fanciest velocity metrics pinch his overtime run, clocking successful astatine 22.17 mph, nan fourth-fastest velocity of immoderate shot bearer this play and his 3rd clip cracking 22 mph. Gibbs is now responsible for 3 of nan 4 quickest plays of nan season. There is juice, and location is Jahmyr Gibbs juice.

Video of nan week

Holy Prescott! There goes Dak rolling into nan endzone to necktie up nan crippled against nan Eagles aft nan Cowboys had trailed 21-0. The Cowboys went connected to triumph 24-21.

The Eagles jumped retired to a commanding lead until their offense, erstwhile again, crushed to a halt. Prescott took advantage, throwing for 354 yards and 2 touchdowns pinch 1 interception. Those yards pushed him past Tony Romo arsenic nan franchise’s all-time leader successful passing yards.

Prescott takes a batch of flak for Dallas’s postseason failings, but for a fourth-round prime who played successful a gimmicky, assemblage offense, to surpass Romo and Troy Aikman arsenic nan Cowboys’ passing leader is incredible. Prescott whitethorn not dine astatine nan aforesaid array arsenic Patrick Mahomes aliases Josh Allen, but he isn’t acold down nan league’s best. Without him this season, nan Cowboys would not beryllium 5-5-1 pinch a chance to make nan playoffs.

Stat of nan week

105. TJ Watt climbed different rung up nan all-time sacks ladder pinch nan 105th of his profession (he is now classed 26th). The sack moved him past his soon-to-be Hall of Fame brother, JJ Watt successful nan grounds books. And JJ conscionable truthful happened to beryllium connected nan telephone successful his caller domiciled arsenic a CBS analyst. “This is preposterous,” JJ said. “I’m gonna put nan pads backmost on.”

The Watts are nan only brothers to each grounds 100 aliases much profession sacks since nan stat became official, according to ESPN. “If he’s gonna walk my record, that’s 1 hellhole of a measurement to do it,” Watt said. “Good for you, TJ.”

Elsewhere astir nan league

Why not a 2nd stat of nan week? Because this 1 is almost unfathomable. With 167 receiving yards against nan Titans, Jaxon Smith-Njigba collapsed nan Seahawks franchise grounds for receiving yards successful a season. A reminder: we’re only successful Week 12! And nan Seahawks person already had a bye! In 11 games, Smith-Njigba has posted 80 catches for 1,313 yards and 7 touchdowns. That’s much yards than DK Metcalf had successful a 17-game twelvemonth aliases Hall of Famer Steve Largent could muster successful a Seahawks season. Smith-Njigba is besides nan only subordinate successful NFL history pinch 75-plus receiving yards successful each of his team’s first 11 games. From a dependable subordinate a twelvemonth ago, Smith-Njigba has go nan astir dynamic, effective receiver successful nan game.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba had different immense time for nan Seahawks. Photograph: Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images

You person to springiness Giants interim coach Mike Kafka credit. He took nan Lions to nan wall connected nan road, forcing overtime against a squad that hasn’t mislaid back-to-back games since 2022. Kafka was treated to nan afloat Jameis Winston experience. The backmost lobbed bombs each complete nan field, throwing for 366 yards, 2 touchdowns and catching a touchdown connected what mightiness upwind up being nan astir absurd play of nan season. Winston didn’t conscionable snag a instrumentality play. He caught a throwback walk successful nan redzone and shook disconnected a defender astatine nan 10-yard statement earlier stepping successful for nan score. Kafka accepted what each interim coaches should: he’s present for a bully time, not a agelong time. Kafka called plays for illustration a chaotic man, allowed Winston to beryllium his chaotic aforesaid and went for nan jugular astatine nan extremity of nan crippled erstwhile he could person turtled up. The Giants lost, but Kafka bolstered his coaching cache.

This season’s MVP is Matthew Stafford’s to lose. He threw 3 touchdowns successful nan Rams’ ascendant 34-7 triumph complete nan Buccaneers connected Sunday Night Football, and now has 30 for nan play on pinch conscionable 2 interceptions – and nan 2 picks came backmost successful September. There was interest for nan Bucs arsenic Baker Mayfield near pinch a enarthrosis wounded successful nan first-half and was later seen pinch his limb successful a sling connected nan sideline.