The Las Vegas Raiders are preparing for their matchup against the New Orleans Saints this Sunday, where they will attempt to start 3-0 for the first time since 2021. The Saints, however, are also coming off a huge road win and will be playing at home for the first time in the 2026 NFL season.
They shut down the Baltimore Ravens' explosive offense in the second half of Week 2, which allowed them to come back and pull off a 24-17 victory. This New Orleans team is never out of the game, so Las Vegas can't ever take its foot off the gas.
Raiders fans will recognize the Saints' defensive coordinator, though: Brandon Staley. He has led their defense since the start of last year, and he is getting production out of his group. Even edge rusher Chase Young has revived his career under Staley.
With the rise of teams playing under center, Staley has been in the lab, working on his craft, and has found a new way to attack teams. He has been executing an interesting concept against teams that are heavy under center, as the Silver and Black have been.
This detail he added to attack offenses makes fullback Connor Heyward an essential piece of the game plan Sunday afternoon.
Connor Heyward is an X factor for the Raiders vs. Saints in Week 3
During a segment on NFL Live, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky pointed out the wrinkle that Staley is deploying. When a team is under center, the Saints send a blitzer to force conflict.
The conflict is how teams block blitzers when running play-action concepts. The running back who is helping execute the fake usually picks up the blitzer from a one-back set. When the Saints timed up their blitzes, it left the Ravens with an unblocked defender during their play-action pass plays.
The Saints laid a blueprint vs Baltimore (and every other under center QB offense) to pay attention to#nfllive pic.twitter.com/a2OKOKJxuh
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) September 25, 2026
Lamar Jackson was under pressure all game because of it. This is where the Raiders' running 21 personnel comes into play. Adding Connor Heyward in the backfield can help mitigate this wrinkle and keep the Saints' defense honest.
While it keeps them honest with their blitzes, Kubiak hasn’t used Heyward as a receiver in this offense yet. If the Saints are blitzing when teams are under center, it could leave Heyward wide open as well. Kubiak has done a great job in the first two weeks of showing familiar looks and switching it up the next week.
Of course, this is easier said than done, and it creates a big challenge for a team that likes to be under center. Raider Nation should expect the coaching staff to be prepared for these different looks from the Saints.
Hopefully, it can lead to the Raiders manufacturing big plays on offense and help mitigate what the Saints have planned on defense.
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