Months After Poaching QB Geno Smith, Raiders Owner Tom Brady Accepts Seahawks Supremacy

Earlier this year, when Tom Brady and the Raiders zeroed in on Geno Smith and Pete Carroll to spearhead a new era in Vegas, many viewed the idea as a bulletproof one. Bringing in a quarterback-coach pairing that had already worked in Seattle felt like a safe formula, and a way to fast-track relevance without starting from scratch. However, things didn’t fall into place at all.

Brady and Co.’s decision has, instead, fast-tracked the Raiders into irrelevance. They are 2-13 and sit at the bottom of the NFL in points scored, total offense, rushing yards, and sacks allowed. Smith has been sacked 52 times and thrown 15 interceptions this season. His passer rating is hovering near the bottom of the league as well.

The Raiders have been non-competitive, drifting through weeks with little offensive identity and no late-season momentum. That perhaps makes this week’s power ranking from TB12 so intriguing.

On Christmas Eve, Brady, wearing his FOX analyst hat, had the Seattle Seahawks ranked No. 1 on his list. “Rising to the number one spot, it’s Seattle,” he said.

“I can admit I was a little slow to come around on this team, but they’ve proven their worth, winning their fifth straight in a game-of-the-year thriller against the Rams on Thursday night,” Brady added.

There was no hedging or qualifiers from the GOAT. Brady flatly acknowledged that the team he helped dismantle while building Las Vegas is now the league’s standard. What makes that admission land even heavier is recalling what else TB12 did this offseason.

Before Smith, Las Vegas had a serious interest in Sam Darnold, who was coming off a Pro Bowl-caliber year in Minnesota. But reports later revealed Brady wasn’t sold.

The GOAT, instead, preferred Smith’s experience and throwing rhythm, and that opinion carried weight. The Raiders pivoted, while Seattle handed Darnold a three-year, $100 million deal, installed him as the starter, and rebuilt around him.

Now, Darnold is leading a 12-3 Seahawks team, posting a passer rating north of 100 while throwing for 3,703 yards (5th best in the NFL) and 24 TDs (tied-8th). PFF has consistently graded him highly this season among QBs including a league-leading overall of 93.5 out of 100. Darnold also earned a first-team Pro Bowl nod recently. And now, in Brady’s own rankings, he’s at the top of the sport.

That said, it wasn’t only the Seahawks that got praise from Brady in his weekly rankings. He also showered love for the other four teams in his top 5.

“At five, it’s the 49ers… they’re hitting their stride at the right time,” he began, hyping San Francisco’s playoff experience and potential.

“The Broncos slide to the fourth spot after a somewhat surprising home loss to Jacksonville, but given their body of work, it’s hard to see this as anything more than an outlier performance from this defense,” added the Fox analyst, brushing off panic in Mile High.

Then at number three, the 7x Super Bowl winner placed the Bills, appreciating them coming back to form.

“The Bills won their fourth straight against the Browns on Sunday to keep the AFC East Race alive for another week. It wasn’t pretty, but come on, is it ever pretty when you’re playing on the lake in Cleveland in late December?” elaborated Brady.

At number two were the Jags, who found love from Brady for really taking him aback with their performance this season.

“The Jags hit their season high at number two after knocking off the top-ranked Broncos on the road. Building on six straight wins, Jacksonville has a chance to wrap up the AFC South against the Colts this weekend. Could they even swipe the top seed in the AFC? That’s a question I didn’t think I’d be asking two months ago,” he admitted.

Finally, Tom Brady concluded by acknowledging what’s been the most open playoff race in years. “We got movement at the top spot yet again. It just shows how many teams have a real shot this year at hoisting the Lombardi,” he aptly said.