Monday was not a great night for the Las Vegas Raiders. In the team’s home opener, Las Vegas fell to 1-1 after losing to the Los Angeles Chargers by a score of 20-9. Geno Smith threw three interceptions, and the run game was limited to just 68 yards.
While the defense tried to keep the team in the game, the Raiders' offense never really got going. As tough as the loss was, however, there were a few bright spots in the game, primarily on the defensive side of the ball.
Holding the Chargers to just 20 points was a great accomplishment, and Las Vegas saw some promising play from its defenders. Two of those defenders were cornerbacks Eric Stokes and Kyu Blu Kelly, who were Raider Nation's biggest concerns heading into the year.
Raiders' cornerbacks remain solid in loss to Chargers
This offseason, the Raiders lost Nate Hobbs, Jack Jones and Jakorian Bennett, the team's three starting cornerbacks from last season. Kelly and Stokes are now the starting cornerback tandem for Las Vegas, and they both performed well yet again in Week 2
Kelly recorded just two tackles, but one of them was a splashy tackle for loss, and he also had a pass deflection. The corner was a part of what appeared to be a miscommunication that led to a Chargers score, but it’s unclear if he or safety Isaiah Pola-Mao was at fault.
Regardless, the young defensive back played a solid game. Stokes was also solid opposite him, recording two tackles and a pass deflection as well. He did give up a big chunk play in a similar fashion to Kelly, but by and large, these two have exceeded expectations.
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According to Pro Football Focus, Stokes earned a grade of 68.4, which is above average and ranked 4th on the Las Vegas defense. Kelly was credited with giving up the aforementioned touchdown, so his grade dropped to 59.7, which is fairly average.
But overall, Kelly gave up just one catch on his other three targets for four yards, and Stokes gave up just a single reception in the contest, albeit for 25 yards. This is despite these two never getting a rest, as they both played 57 of the team's 58 defensive snaps.
Both Kelly and Stokes still have work to do if they want to reach a higher level, but they are faring just fine thus far in 2025, especially for a cornerback tandem that many thought would be toward the bottom of the league.
Once thought to be a major weakness, this duo is steadily heading in the right direction. Given all of the team's other issues, the cornerback position is almost the least of Raider Nation's concerns at this point.