The Las Vegas Raiders have once again created a mystery that could easily inspire a Netflix documentary: “Who Sabotaged Chip Kelly’s Offense?” Spoiler alert—after the past three months, it seems like it could have been anyone.
Theories have piled up faster than Raiders three-and-outs. First, Chip Kelly reportedly called plays not found on the laminated sheet in his hand—a bold strategy, if true, suggesting either avant-garde innovation or a man simply freestyling his way through an existential crisis. Then came the whispers that Tom Brady, minority owner and full-time quarterback whisperer, may have nudged his way into the offensive kitchen, rearranging the ingredients and turning the offensive line depth chart into a grab bag of head-scratchers. Pete Carroll dismissed those rumors, of course, but credibility is hard to maintain when the building is leaking more than a sieve.
The Raiders season that keeps on giving…
Ian Rapoport introduced a Saturday night twist: Carroll allegedly constrained Kelly’s offense, compelling him to implement a system that resembled nothing of his signature style. Rapoport noted that defensive coordinators believed they were gearing up for Seattle 2023 rather than a reimagined version of Kelly’s approach. That alone should qualify the Raiders for some kind of performance art award.
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If true, Kelly wasn’t running his offense; he was running Carroll’s nostalgia tour. Gone were the quirky shotgun runs and tempo. In its place: Carroll’s beloved under-center zone scheme, which in Las Vegas has performed with all the enthusiasm of a DMV line. One opponent even dusted off old Seahawks scout cards, which feels like a poetic metaphor for the entire season—everyone but the Raiders seemed to know what the Raiders were doing.
Kelly’s three-month cameo as an “offensive innovator turned vanilla enthusiast” has now become an indictment of either his autonomy or Carroll’s meddling. Both men enter the final stretch of 2025 with reputational bruises, but only Carroll remains employed long enough to ice his.
Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers offers the Raiders a rare opportunity: clarity. If the offense suddenly looks functional, Kelly becomes the convenient fall guy. But if the unit continues its season-long impersonation of a malfunctioning Roomba spinning in circles, it will only reinforce the obvious—Kelly wasn’t the problem; he was merely the latest passenger on a ship that has been taking on water for decades.
Either way, Raider Nation remains undefeated in chaos.
*Top Photo: Getty Images