THE LAS VEGAS RAIDERS ARE 3-0 TO BEGIN THE 2026 NFL SEASON!
Imagine saying that sentence to a fan at any point last year, or even this offseason. Heck, a month ago. But Klint Kubiak's team didn't back down against the New Orleans Saints in Week 3 and crawled out of an 11-point hole in the third quarter to win 35-27 on the road. It was a gutty, gutty win.
Raider Nation may have forgotten what it feels like to have stressful games like that, but man, it is good to be back. It wasn't a perfect showing by any means, but it rarely is in this league, and the bottom line is that the Silver and Black escaped with a victory to remain undefeated.
With the emotions still very high after the game and my heartbeat still at 200, as it was for much of the second half, I present you with my raw reactions from Las Vegas' win over New Orleans:
7 instant reactions to Raiders' massive win over the Saints
1. Brock Bowers is, in fact, an unbelievably huge difference-maker
This offense was already good, but Bowers has thrust them into borderline elite territory. The Saints had zero answer for Bowers all day, as he caught 10 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown that put the game away. He was a nightmare for New Orleans and changed the offense's complexion.
It is tough to see how a defense is going to stop this Raiders team when you can just put the ball in the same zip code as Bowers and it turns into a first down or a score. And the more success he has, the more it will open things up for everyone in Las Vegas. I'd say Bowers looked healthy on Sunday.
2. The defense wasn't perfect, but it came through when it needed to
After forcing a three-and-out on the opening drive, the Raiders gave up touchdowns on four of the next five possessions. But Rob Leonard made adjustments, and his group was a force to be reckoned with in the last 20 or so minutes. Here were the results of the Saints' final five drives:
Punt
Fumble
Interception
Fumble
Fumble
Getting a takeaway on four straight possessions to end the game is just ridiculous, and they had another that was called back. This unit was everywhere in the final portion of this contest, and they will haunt Kellen Moore and the Saints' offense for some time.
3. Klint Kubiak's team is resilient and keeps finding new ways to win
Las Vegas looked dead in the water after starting the second half with a three-and-out, giving up a touchdown, fumbling the ensuing kickoff and giving up another touchdown. Suddenly, they were down 27-16 after heading into halftime with a 16-13 lead and preparing to get the ball first.
But nobody looked discouraged on the sideline. The Silver and Black banded together and rallied on both sides of the ball to score 19 unanswered points and pull out the win. It was their first come-from-behind win, and it looked nothing like their first two, but the Raiders found a way to get it done.
4. Kirk Cousins may actually still have it
Those who opposed starting Cousins are eating crow right now (me). Cousins had three touchdown passes yet again, becoming the first player in NFL history to throw three touchdown passes in each of his first three games with a new team. And he completed 66.7% of his passes for 248 yards.
Cousins did scramble one time for seven yards, but he still needs to get rid of the ball sometimes and not take sacks like he did today. And if he's going to take sacks, he needs to hold onto the ball. Again, Cousins wasn't perfect or that close to it, but he's still got it and can keep helping this team win.
5. Nakobe Dean is the best free agent acquisition Raiders have made in years
Tyler Linderbaum was rightfully the talk of this year's free agent class. But Nakobe Dean has been the best veteran addition from this past offseason, and he may very well be the best free agent that the Raiders have signed in years and years. He has been that impactful for Las Vegas in three games.
On Sunday, he led the game with 12 tackles, 11 of which were solo, and he made a TFL, broke up a pass and forced two fumbles. Dean comes through in every clutch situation for the Silver and Black, and his multi-faceted contributions for this defense have been a miracle after years of poor LB play.
6. Malcolm Koonce is back
Koonce made a bigger impact than anybody on the defense not named Nakobe Dean, and he was undoubtedly the star of the Raiders' fairly weak pass rush on Sunday. He had a sack, a quarterback hit, three stops and a pivotal forced fumble in the fourth quarter. Welcome back, Malcolm.
7. It's time to change our expectations for this team
Before the season, I expected this team to win 5-6 games, and I would have been thrilled with anything more than that. But with a 3-0 record, it may be time to start looking at this as a potential playoff year, and not just Year 1 of the rebuild. This Raiders team can do some damage.
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