Hours after announcing he’d unretire to compete in a one-day flag football tournament, Las Vegas Raiders co-owner Tom Brady watched from the coaches’ booth alongside offensive coordinator Chip Kelly during Monday night’s matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers.
It made little difference.
The Raiders’ offense looked disoriented and ineffective in a 20-9 loss, marking only the second time in franchise history they’ve dropped four consecutive home openers.
“What that really feels like is a real missed opportunity, just in general,” Raiders coach Pete Carroll said. “We didn’t play well enough on the offensive side.”
One week after showcasing a precision passing display in a 20-13 win over New England, quarterback Geno Smith struggled against the Chargers’ relentless defense. Linebacker Daiyan Henley led the charge, finishing with 10 tackles, a sack, a quarterback hurry, two tackles for loss, two pass deflections and an interception.
Smith, who completed 24 of 34 passes for 362 yards with a touchdown and an interception against the Patriots, managed just 169 yards on 22-of-36 passing with three interceptions against Los Angeles – including one on the game’s opening play. It marked the fifth three-interception game of Smith’s career.
“I know that the picks are a big issue, but that’s not my concern,” Carroll said. “My concern is why we didn’t get the ball thrown and caught underneath, and we wound up taking those shots downfield.”
Smith was just the third player in the last 20 seasons, and the first since 2015, to go 0-for-10 or worse on passes of 10 or more yards, according to Sportradar.
“Those are things that I’ve got to learn from and be better at,” Smith said, finishing with a 37.0 quarterback rating. “Anything that doesn’t look right out there, you put that on my feet, put that on my shoulders. I feel like I’ve got to be a lot better for our guys. I know I have to, and I will be.”
It didn’t help that tight end Brock Bowers, expected to be Smith’s primary target, was playing at less than 100 percent. Nursing a left knee injury all week, Bowers was questionable coming into the game and finished with five receptions for 38 yards.
“We were concerned about it. He only practiced one day during the week, and he seemed okay,” Carroll said. “You saw us go to him more in the second half because he survived the first half and made it through it.”
Rookie Ashton Jeanty finished with 43 yards on 11 carries, but for the second straight week, the rushing game did nothing to complement the passing attack.
Through two weeks, the Raiders’ rushing offense has generated 124 yards, the second-fewest in the NFL.
“We’re going to have to run the football better, more effectively,” Carroll said. “We’ve got to get more yards. I mean, 50 or 60 yards rushing, that’s not enough. We’ve got to get more than that.”
Meanwhile, Brady’s dual role as Raiders part-owner and Fox analyst continues to draw attention, though the league has not expressed concern.
The seven-time Super Bowl winner and five-time Super Bowl MVP is scheduled to call next week’s game between the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears. One week later, the Bears travel to Las Vegas to face the Raiders.
“We have conversations. I talk to Tom. Chip talks to Tom regularly,” Carroll said. “I mean, we have a tremendous asset. We all get along well, and we respect each other. We just talk about life and football and he has great insight. We’re lucky to have him as an owner.”
With a road trip to face the Washington Commanders next, though, it appears it will take more than conversation and Brady in the booth – to fix the Raiders’ struggles.
