The legendary focus that made Tom Brady the most successful quarterback in NFL history seems to be missing from his retirement projects. His latest role as the de facto football leader of the Las Vegas Raiders is descending into what can only be described as an unholy mess.
A Franchise in Freefall
The Raiders' dismal season hit a new low on Sunday, dropping to a 2-9 record after a humiliating 24-10 defeat by the Cleveland Browns. The loss was not just a defeat; it was a comprehensive embarrassment. The Browns, a team with its own struggles, started a quarterback making his first NFL start and still dominated.
Las Vegas's offensive performance was historically poor, averaging a meagre 2.9 yards per play before garbage time in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Geno Smith was sacked 10 times and pressured on 46 occasions, a single-game high for any team this season. Defensively, the Raiders gifted large chunk plays to a Cleveland offense that has been dysfunctional for most of the year.
The Brady Fingerprint
While Tom Brady only became a minority owner in 2024, he was the architect behind every major football decision last offseason, and the results have been catastrophic. This iteration of the Raiders bears his unmistakable stamp.
Brady hired his college buddy and former Tampa colleague, John Spytek, as General Manager. He greenlit a roster plan that included trading a third-round pick for Geno Smith and drafting a running back sixth overall despite having a bottom-tier offensive line. He lured Chip Kelly from the college ranks, making him the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the league, and signed off on handing the fragile offensive line to the son of head coach Pete Carroll.
The outcome has been a disaster. Last season's Raiders were a scrappy, four-win team. This year's model is a confused and lifeless squad, appearing to count down the plays until the end of the game.
A Stark Contrast and a Bleak Future
The contrast with the victorious Browns was stark. While Cleveland has its issues, there are embers of hope. Myles Garrett leads a formidable defense and is just five sacks from the NFL single-season record. A promising rookie class, including Quinshon Judkins and Carson Schwesinger, offers a glimpse of a brighter future.
Most notably, rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders, in his first start, showed composure and creativity, becoming the first Browns rookie QB to win his first start since 1995.
The Raiders, meanwhile, have no such optimism. They lack a core, a quarterback, an identity, and, most alarmingly, a coherent plan. The organisation is trapped in a cycle of short-term thinking, having churned through seven coaches and five general managers in 15 years.
With Brady dividing his attention between Fox broadcasting, business ventures, and his role with the Raiders, the franchise appears rudderless. The most dangerous position for any NFL team is not being bad, but not knowing you're bad. For the Las Vegas Raiders, that reality is now impossible to ignore.
