At the onset of the 2026 NFL season, most Las Vegas Raiders fans were worried about one "P" word: progress. In the first year of this rebuild, the majority of The Nation wanted to see Klint Kubiak and his young team and coaching staff grow on the job, establish a culture and always be competitive.
Through three games, it seems like we sold the Silver and Black short in a major way.
Kubiak's team is 3-0 to begin the campaign, and not the fluky kind that can't be sustained for 18 weeks, but rather, the kind that should have this fanbase reassessing its goals for this team for the remainder of the year and actually establishing some expectations in the early going.
A month ago, Raiders fans would have loved an 8-9-win effort and been perfectly fine with 5-6 wins, which would have doubled last year's output. It was important to have hope and optimism, but not expectations. Now, though, the "P" word that Las Vegas supporters should be focused on is playoffs.
Reasons to believe that Raiders can be a playoff team in 2026
Not only are the Silver and Black 3-0, but they have won two games on the road and two games with Brock Bowers on the sidelines. Ashton Jeanty hasn't really gotten going yet either, so the Raiders are undefeated while playing mostly away from home and without their two stars making a full impact.
Most promising from their three victories is that the team has won in different ways. Week 1 was about dominance in the trenches and a strong run game. Week 2 was about airing it out downfield. Week 3 was about making a comeback and winning in the intermediate areas. Three distinct wins.
Good teams find a way to pull it out, and that is precisely what Las Vegas has done in the early going. And while the slate of opponents they have played has not been overly difficult on the surface, let's analyze that with a bit more nuance.
The Miami Dolphins have, in many ways, the NFL's worst roster. But they hung with the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3 and actually held the lead going into the fourth quarter. If not for an insurance score at the end, the Chiefs would have only won by seven. And everyone thinks Kansas City is great.
Before the year, if someone told you that the Raiders beat the Los Angeles Chargers by two scores, you may have been amazed. But now, the Chargers are apparently a joke, and beating them means nothing, even if they fought the Buffalo Bills on the road a week after losing to Las Vegas at home.
Whatever!
When it comes to the New Orleans Saints, everyone thought they were a potential breakout team. And they barely lost to the Detroit Lions in Week 1 - controversially, some may say - and they beat the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2, both on the road. Beating them at the Superdome was a huge task.
That's three good wins for the Raiders. And even if they were "supposed" to win those games... that's what good teams do. They handle business and don't back down from any adversity to end up on the right side of the scoring column. And suddenly, the schedule ahead doesn't look so tough.
Next week, Las Vegas plays the 3-0 Chiefs, who played just as well as the Raiders did against the Dolphins. After that, it's the 1-2 New England Patriots, who look like a mess, the 1-2 Los Angeles Rams, who aren't healthy or succeeding, and the 3-0 Bills, who barely beat the Chargers.
After three games, Las Vegas has the seventh-best offense in terms of points scored (29.3). They have the most takeaways in the NFL. They are pressuring the quarterback and getting sacks at a high rate and the special teams unit is flipping the field. This is complementary football at its finest.
With Bowers now back in the fold, this offense can ratchet things up even more. And with Treydan Stukes hopefully back next week for the defense, the Raiders may not be as porous as they were at times against the Saints without him.
The Raiders have a solid veteran quarterback in Kirk Cousins - for real this time. They have two good, young running backs, an all-world tight end and another dang good one, a solid offensive line, waves of pass rushers that get home, two transformational linebackers and an opportunistic secondary.
Young players are developing at an alarming rate. The culture seems to be top-notch because Kubiak believes in his players and practices what he preaches. If you're asking me, that sounds like a playoff team. And at the end of the day, it's a numbers game as well.
According to The Athletic's playoff simulator, the Raiders are already up to a 38% chance of making the postseason after a 3-0 start. They began the year at 8% and were sitting at just 22% after Week 2. Their odds of winning the AFC West are now 12% after climbing from 3% before Week 1.
They'll jump up to 53% and 23%, respectively, with a win on Sunday against the Chiefs.
This is a team that can go to the playoffs. Adjust your expectations accordingly.
Reasons to still be cynical about 3-0 Las Vegas, if that's your thing
Before we anoint this Las Vegas team as postseason-bound or start sounding the alarms if they hit a rough patch, let's honestly assess some reasons to still have doubts. The first is that the three teams they have played are 1-5 in the six games that they have played, other than facing the Raiders.
The turnover margin that the Silver and Black are playing at may also not be sustainable. A good portion of the interceptions and forced fumbles that have occurred are a product of good scheme and talent, but the ball won't always bounce Las Vegas' way when it needs to, as it has so far.
Cousins has also been playing well, but can he keep that up for an entire year? In Week 1, he wasn't tremendous, and in Week 2, he took advantage of a few deep balls against a Chargers defense missing its free safety. In Week 3, it was the complete Bowers show, and teams will adjust.
Perhaps a critical component of Cousins keeping up his level of play is the run game getting going, which needs to happen at some point against a team that isn't Miami. Among qualifying running backs, Jeanty has the worst rushing EPA in the NFL through three games. That is an issue. A big one.
Sacks have been fairly easy to come by as well, as Las Vegas' 10 are tied for the fourth-most in the NFL. But the Raiders aren't getting home quickly and are giving opposing quarterbacks too much time to throw. Coverage won't always hold up, so they need to be better and more consistent.
Guards Spencer Burford and Jackson Powers-Johnson have also been subtly getting by while making a lot of mistakes, and it is only a matter of time before an elite defensive coordinator finds a way to take advantage of that.
Compared to the list of reasons to raise your expectations and to believe in this Las Vegas team, though, the list of reasons not to feels pretty short. But these can all become big issues if the Raiders aren't careful, so for the reasons listed above, you can still be cynical if that's your thing.
But I'm choosing to be a believer at this point.
Add us as a preferred source on Google