Tom Brady was accustomed to seeing yellow flags on the field throughout his stellar playing career, but the minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders raised some red flags Monday night by appearing in the team’s coaching booth during a home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

Brady, 48, who joined the Raiders’ ownership group last October, was spotted on ESPN’s telecast wearing a headset. Per the ESPN broadcast, the future Hall of Famer discusses game film and goes over the game plan with new Las Vegas offensive coordinator Chip Kelly every week.

Brady made his Fox debut as an analyst last season on a 10-year, $375 million contract.

Under looser restrictions than last season, Brady can now attend production meetings as part of his NFL broadcast duties with Fox, though he must participate in those discussions remotely. He still can’t attend practices held at team facilities.

Fans, coaches, players and the media are sure to speculate that Brady’s access gives the Raiders an unfair advantage, particularly when he is calling games for Fox involving teams that Las Vegas will face later in the season.

Fans posted on social media during the game, calling it a conflict of interest and questioning the fairness of giving Brady access to future opponents.

The seven-time Super Bowl winner will be on the broadcast team on Sunday when the Dallas Cowboys face the Chicago Bears, whom the Raiders play the following week.

This past weekend, Brady was in Kansas City to broadcast the Super Bowl rematch between the Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, teams also on the Raiders’ schedule this season.

In Week 1, Brady was part of Fox’s broadcast of the New York Giants’ game against the Washington Commanders, who will host the Raiders on Sunday.

Las Vegas lost 20-9 to the Chargers on Monday.

–Field Level Media

Justin Herbert passed for 242 yards and two touchdowns to help the visiting Los Angeles Chargers notch a 20-9 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night.

Keenan Allen and Quentin Johnston caught scoring passes as the Chargers (2-0) defeated the Raiders for the third straight time. Daiyan Henley, Tony Jefferson and Donte Jackson each had an interception for Los Angeles.

Geno Smith was picked off three times in his second start with the Raiders (1-1) to take over the NFL lead with four picks. Smith completed 24 of 43 passes for 180 yards, while Daniel Carlson provided all the Las Vegas points with three field goals.

The Chargers lost star pass rusher Khalil Mack to a left elbow injury on the final play of the first quarter. He later returned to the sideline with his left arm heavily wrapped and sporting a sling.

Herbert completed 19 of 27 passes and had a team-best 31 rushing yards on nine carries for Los Angeles, which outgained the Raiders 317-218 in total yards.

The first two drives of the second half lasted a combined 18 minutes, 45 seconds without either team finding the end zone.

The Chargers had the ball for 7 1/2 minutes to start the third quarter, and the 12-play, 72-yard drive was capped by Cameron Dicker’s 20-yard field goal to push the lead to 20-6. The Raiders then erased 11:15 off the clock during a 19-play, 62-yard drive, settling for Carlson’s 37-yard field goal with 11:15 left in the game.

Los Angeles failed on fourth-and-1 from midfield later in the quarter and Las Vegas took over at the Chargers 43 with 8:10 to play.

However, the Raiders came up empty despite reaching the 15. On third-and-15 from the 20, Smith threw into the end zone for Jakobi Meyers. Los Angeles star Derwin James Jr. broke up the pass, and the deflected ball caromed to Jackson for an interception and a touchback with 5:58 left.

The Raiders’ next possession ended with Henley’s fourth-down sack of Smith with 3:57 remaining.

The Chargers moved ahead 10-3 when Herbert tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Allen with 20 seconds left in the opening quarter. Carlson drilled a 40-yard field goal to move Las Vegas within four with 9:54 to go in the half.

Los Angeles increased its lead to 17-6 when Herbert connected with Johnston on a 60-yard scoring pass with 1:51 remaining in the second quarter. Johnston caught the ball around the 15-yard line en route to his third touchdown in two games.

The teams traded field goals in the first quarter — Dicker hitting from 38 yards and Carlson connecting from 54 yards.

–Field Level Media

Los Angeles Chargers star linebacker Khalil Mack will undergo imaging on Tuesday to determine the extent of the left elbow injury he sustained on the final play of the first quarter Monday night against the host Las Vegas Raiders.

Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh wouldn’t speculate about Mack’s condition after his team’s 20-9 victory, saying they would await the test results and “see where that takes us.”

Mack was hurt when his arm got momentarily stuck against the body of teammate Troy Dye as both players were in pursuit of Raiders wideout Tre Tucker. Mack had his left arm twist awkwardly, and he immediately scurried to the sideline.

Mack was initially looked at in the medical tent and came out and appeared to be in intense pain. He then was taken from the field.

He was ruled out by the Chargers just after he returned to the sideline during the two-minute warning of the first half with his left arm heavily wrapped and sporting a sling.

Mack, 34, recorded a sack of Las Vegas quarterback Geno Smith in the opening quarter. It was his first of the season and raised his career count to 108.5.

The nine-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time All-Pro spent his first four NFL seasons with the then-Oakland Raiders (2014-17) and also played four seasons with the Chicago Bears (2018-21). He is in his fourth season with the Chargers.

–Field Level Media

Rachaad White scored on a 2-yard run with six seconds left as the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers earned a dramatic 20-19 victory over the Houston Texans on Monday night.

The Buccaneers (2-0) covered 80 yards in 11 plays to stun the Texans (0-2), who turned a blocked punt and a 53-yard punt return from rookie Jaylin Noel into a 19-14 lead with 2:10 remaining.

On the winning drive, Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield scrambled 15 yards on fourth-and-10 before completing a 22-yard pass to Bucky Irving to the Houston 23. White then capped a strong performance for the Buccaneers’ rushing attack, as he combined with Irving to rush for 136 yards on 27 carries.

Mayfield finished a resilient effort by completing 25 of 38 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns, overcoming four sacks. He rushed for 33 yards on three carries.

Nick Chubb gave the Texans the late lead with a 25-yard scoring run, a surprising jolt after Houston running backs had totaled 32 yards on 14 carries before that play. Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud produced 207 yards and a touchdown on 13-of-24 passing and was sacked three times.

Both teams failed on two-point conversion attempts after their late touchdowns.

Tampa Bay led 14-10 at halftime, and Mayfield and Stroud were under duress throughout the third quarter. Sheldon Rankins dropped Mayfield on third down to force a Buccaneers punt before Tykee Smith sacked Stroud on third down on the ensuing Texans drive. Following another Tampa Bay punt, Stroud endured another third-down sack, with Lavonte David and Elijah Roberts combining to force the punt.

However, after amassing only 28 yards on 11 plays in the second half, the Buccaneers got a 22-yard reception from Mike Evans and runs of 12, 9, and 16 yards to move to the Houston 20. The Texans held the line in the red zone, and Chase McLaughlin clanked a 38-yard field-goal attempt off the right upright with 1:01 left in the third.

The Texans responded to the opportunity as Stroud produced passes of 28 yards to Jayden Higgins and 16 yards to Dalton Schultz. A 7-yard pass from Stroud to Nico Collins set the Texans up at the Tampa Bay 1, but the Buccaneers stuffed Houston three times to reclaim possession.

At the start of the game, Stroud capped a six-play, 64-yard drive with a dazzling 29-yard scoring strike to Collins that gave the Texans a 7-0 lead.

The Buccaneers put together consecutive touchdown drives, converting all four third downs they faced. Mayfield finished the drives with scoring passes to Ryan Miller for 20 yards and Emeka Egbuka for 15 yards.

Danielle Hunter had two sacks for the Texans, including the 100th of his career.

–Field Level Media

In what could be a step toward competing for an eventual gold medal, Tom Brady announced on Monday that he would compete at an inaugural flag football tournament in Saudi Arabia in March 2026.

Brady, the 15-time Pro Bowler and seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback, retired from the NFL following the 2022 season.

The Fanatics Flag Football Classic is an exhibition tournament that will feature three teams in a round-robin format. Brady, 48, is joining current and former league stars in participating.

That list includes current standouts Saquon Barkley (Eagles), Tyreek Hill (Dolphins), Christian McCaffrey (49ers), Sauce Gardner (Jets), Myles Garrett (Browns), CeeDee Lamb (Cowboys) and Maxx Crosby (Raiders), as well as free agent Odell Beckham Jr.

Brady’s former teammate Rob Gronkowski is also committed, while the three coaches are confirmed to be Pete Carroll, Sean Payton and Kyle Shanahan.

“I will be bringing home the trophy,” Brady said.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced in 2023 that flag football will be included in the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, and Brady might be aiming for a spot in that competition.

In May, the NFL granted its players permission to participate in flag football at the 2028 Summer Olympics, citing specific regulations as part of the decision, such as overseeing proper playing surfaces and injury protections for NFL teams.

Brady, a three-time league MVP who spent 20 seasons with the New England Patriots and three more with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is the NFL’s all-time leader in games started (333), completions (7,753), attempts (12,050), yards (89,214), touchdown passes (649), fourth-quarter comebacks (46) and game-winning drives (58).

–Field Level Media

The New York Giants let a three-point lead slip away in the final seconds Sunday, falling 40-37 in overtime to the Dallas Cowboys.

On Monday, Giants head coach Brian Daboll focused on the sequence that allowed Dallas to tie the game while also emphasizing there were several missed chances to close out the win.

“We had a number of opportunities throughout the game in every area to close that game out,” Daboll said. “There are things to get better at. They hit that 64-yarder, which we knew was in his range there. They had that big play to the middle route right there. We’d like to be a little bit tighter, but there’s a number of plays that came up throughout the game that if you have one different play there or here, it’s going to make the difference in a game like that.”

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott connected with Jake Ferguson on an 18-yard completion that moved the ball to the New York 49-yard line with 18 seconds left in regulation. That helped set up Brandon Aubrey for a 64-yard field goal that tied the game.

Daboll chose not to place the blame for the loss on that alone, noting the Giants had more than enough chances to score more than 37 points. For example, the Giants were 1 for 5 in the red zone, surrendered four leads — three in the final 12 minutes of the fourth quarter — and gained a total of three yards on their two possessions in overtime before Aubrey ended the game with a 46-yard field goal as overtime expired.

“Overall, not good enough. We didn’t get a win,” Daboll said. “So look, there’s always certain decisions that you go back and reevaluate.”

The head coach repeated several times that the loss was the result of the Giants’ overall performance.

“It’s never going to come down to one play. I know that’s the one play that you’re talking about, but collectively, we’ve got to be better,” Daboll said. “We collectively had opportunities and fell short as a collective unit.

“There’s plays we left out there in all three phases.”

–Field Level Media

With the Atlanta Falcons’ first win under their belt, head coach Raheem Morris addressed the team’s next area of concern on Monday: finding the end zone.

In their 22-6 road win over Minnesota on Sunday night, the Falcons made five trips to the red zone, resulting in four field goals before they finally broke through for a game-sealing touchdown with 3:22 left.

Ahead of a second straight road test, this time against NFC South foe Carolina, Morris is well aware of the issue at hand.

“We did not do a great job in the red zone, that’s for sure,” Morris said. “Fortunately for us, our defense held their team to almost the same poor play. …

“I’m ecstatic to not have that conversation (of being 0-2). You learn from the lessons, the things you want to do better. You can be harder on yourself, whether from a coaching standpoint or a player standpoint. The guys are getting hungrier.”

The story in Atlanta leading up to Week 2 was its kicking woes and the subsequent decision to make a change from former Pro Bowler Younghoe Koo. After missing a game-tying kick in the Falcons’ 23-20 season-opening loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team signed John Parker Romo and left Koo at home for the trip.

Romo made all five of his field goals on Sunday, including a 54-yarder in the fourth quarter, making the Falcons’ future at the spot almost a no-brainer.

“There is about a 90 percent chance that Romo is our kicker next week,” Morris said on Monday. “There’s no doubt about it. I wouldn’t even sit here and act like it’s an open competition, because the guy just went 5-for-5. He did a heck of a job and I want to see him go out there and do it again.”

The Falcons didn’t emerge with a perfect bill of health after their first win against Minnesota since 2020. Top cover cornerback A.J. Terrell exited late in the second quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return.

“Nothing new on A.J. right now,” Morris said. “Obviously he suffered the injury and didn’t come back to the game with that hamstring. I’ll have better information once we start practice and get through the day.”

In Terrell’s place, fourth-year veteran Dee Alford held Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson to one second-half reception in the Atlanta victory.

–Field Level Media

Old rivals renew acquaintances when Jim Harbaugh’s Los Angeles Chargers travel to Las Vegas to take on the Raiders and new coach Pete Carroll on Monday night to close out Week 2 of the NFL slate.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert outplayed Patrick Mahomes in the opener by passing for 318 yards and three touchdowns in a 27-21 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. He also made the clinching play when he scrambled for 19 yards on third-and-14 just before the two-minute warning.

“Justin is one hell of a football player,” Chargers tight end Tyler Conklin told reporters. “Just all-around, everything he can do … I can’t say I ever played with someone that can just control a game like that with his feet and with his arm.”

Acquired in the offseason from the Seahawks, where he earned Pro Bowl honors in 2022-23 while playing for Carroll, Raiders quarterback Geno Smith passed for 362 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Week 1’s 20-13 road win over the New England Patriots.

“That’s how we want to play football,” Smith said of the aerial attack. “We want to make sure that we make the right reads. I want to make sure that I’m making the right decisions and getting the ball into the hands of the playmakers. We got a lot of great players, and that’s something we can take advantage of.”

ODDS AND TRENDS
The Chargers are consensus 3.5-point favorites. That includes BetRivers, where their odds have shifted to -108 by Monday evening with the public backing Los Angeles with 93 percent of the spread-line money.

The favorite has covered the spread in each of the past six meetings between these two teams.

The Chargers -195 moneyline had also been extremely popular, drawing 91 percent of the money and 89 percent of the total bets while the Raiders’ ML was being offered at +160.

PROP PICKS
–Over 46.5 Total Points (-115 at BetRivers): Each of the Chargers’ past six games have gone over the total points line.

–Herbert 250+ Passing Yards (-131 at DraftKings): Harbaugh’s teams are known for their stingy defense and run-heavy offensive game plans. So it surprised everyone, including the Chiefs, when Herbert came out slinging the ball in Week 1. He completed 25 passes for 318 yards and a trio of touchdowns — Herbert’s fourth consecutive regular-season game with at least 281 passing yards.

KEY STAT
Herbert has thrown an interception in just one of his past 13 regular-season games against AFC opponents.

INJURY REPORT
Raiders All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers left the team’s Week 1 victory with a knee injury.

“I’m not sure. We’ll see,” Bowers said Thursday on whether he can play. “We’ll see how it’s feeling throughout the week, but I’m hoping to play.”

Bowers didn’t practice Thursday and Friday and was limited Saturday. He is listed as questionable. Linebacker Elandon Roberts (elbow) also missed practice Thursday for the Raiders, was limited on Friday and was a full participant on Saturday. Offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson (concussion) has been ruled out.

For the Chargers, linebacker Denzel Perryman (ankle) was ruled out after missing practice all week. Linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips (toe) is questionable after missing practice Thursday and being limited Friday and Saturday. Cornerback Elijah Molden (hamstring) was ruled out, and cornerback Tarheeb Still (calf) was limited Thursday but a full participant Friday and Saturday.

SERIES HISTORY
The Chargers won both meetings last season for their first sweep of the Raiders since 2018.

THEY SAID IT
The friction between the coaches was at its worst when Carroll coached at Southern California and Harbaugh was reviving the Stanford program. The coaches met three times with Harbaugh winning twice.

The visiting Cardinal shocked the top-ranked Trojans — who were favored by 41 points — in 2007 before USC won the next season at Stanford. Then, in 2009, Harbaugh never took his foot off the pedal as the Cardinal routed USC 55-21 in Los Angeles.

Afterward, the two men had a very frosty postgame handshake with Carroll famously asking Harbaugh, “What’s your deal?”

Carroll exacted some revenge in the NFL when his Seattle Seahawks beat Harbaugh’s San Francisco 49ers 23-17 in the 2013 season’s NFC Championship Game.

“I remember Jim. I have no fond memories,” Carroll said Thursday. “… There have been great games.”

Harbaugh is well aware of the storyline.

“That’s expected and pretty well documented,” Harbaugh said. “He’s a great coach, one of the best. A lot of respect. I always thought if I had ever played for him or on one of his teams, I bet we would have been really good friends.”

PREDICTION
The Raiders appear to be markedly improved from last season, but they’re still a year behind the Chargers in the quest to be a legitimate contender in the AFC. Smith is prone to an ill-timed interception and has too often forced balls into coverage in the red zone in recent years, while the Chargers are showing an offense capable of moving the ball steadily on the ground or through the air. –Chargers 27, Raiders 20

–Field Level Media

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni denies Philadelphia is eliminating the forward pass from its offense.

Facing questions about the Eagles’ lackluster passing attack through two games, Sirianni shifted the focus to Philadelphia’s 2-0 record and the 15 opportunities to follow.

“You get better as the season goes along. So does the defense. It’s all relative there,” Sirianni said on Monday. “By no means are we a finished product. We want to play our best football at the end of the year.”

Quarterback Jalen Hurts was blitzed by the Chiefs on 16 of his 25 dropbacks on Sunday. His rapid release time of 2.11 seconds per NFL Next Gen Stats made over-the-top, downfield passing a risky proposition.

The Eagles are No. 29 in total offense (259 yards per game), 30th in yards per play (4.32), 31st in passing offense (119 yards per game). They’re also 27th in the league in passing yards per play (5.29-yard average).

No. 1 wide receiver A.J. Brown has six receptions for 35 yards with a long of eight yards. Devonta Smith has seven receptions for 69 yards and the Eagles are averaging 7.4 yards per catch. Last season Philadelphia averaged 11.6 yards per catch, led by Brown’s average of 16.1 yards per reception.

Of the 10 passes thrown to Brown, only one traveled more than 10 yards in the air.

“I think we’ve been very efficient moving the ball forward as an offense,” Sirianni said. “It’s hard to consistently inch your way down the field as an offense. You want to hit explosives. You’ve got to hit explosives. … There’s different reasons why we had this many or why we had that many. We understand that to be what you want to be on offense you have to be more explosive.

“You are always looking to win the explosive play battle. The last two weeks we haven’t done it,” Sirianni said. “What I love about our team is we’re constantly in self-critical mode. Open to everything. Only (focused on) getting better.”

The running game was far more explosive over the course of 17 games in 2024, averaging 4.9 yards per carry. The team is down to 3.9 yards per rush in the first two games this season.

Philadelphia has called 75 run plays and 48 passes this season.

All five of the team’s touchdowns are on rushing scores by quarterback Jalen Hurts (three) and running back Saquon Barkley (two).

Sirianni said he watched a few of the clips highlighting the continued complaints about the “Tush Push” after another Hurts touchdown run secured a win at Kansas City. He said the video he saw was slowed down to the extent that officials wouldn’t be able to discern a false start with the naked eye.

“There’s a beauty to it. Man, they know exactly what’s coming and either they stop or can’t stop it,” Sirianni said. “It’s about the physicality of the play, the toughness of the play. They made it really hard on us yesterday. I think it brings good attention to the game. Obviously, I’m biased.”

–Field Level Media

The Los Angeles Rams placed cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon on injured reserve Monday after he suffered a broken clavicle Sunday in a win over the Tennessee Titans.

The veteran starter will have to miss a minimum of four games, though his timeline to return is likely longer as collarbone injuries take 6-12 weeks to heal, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Head coach Sean McVay called the situation “a big loss” for the Rams after they improved to 2-0 Sunday by beating Tennessee 33-19.

Witherspoon, 30, was in his third season in Los Angeles and started each of the first two games, recording three tackles and one pass deflection. He was injured in the second quarter against the Titans and soon ruled out for the game.

In nine NFL seasons with the San Francisco 49ers (2017-20), Pittsburgh Steelers (2021-22) and Rams (2023-25), Witherspoon has played in 92 games, making 64 starts. He has amassed 238 tackles, 12 interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), 59 passes defended, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.

The Rams have Emmanuel Forbes, Cobie Durant and Darious Williams to choose from at the position. Forbes has started both games, and Williams made his season debut Sunday in relief of Witherspoon.

–Field Level Media