Rob Leonard's defense was the star of the show for the first three weeks of the 2026 NFL season. But the Las Vegas Raiders ran into a giant in Week 4 against the Kansas City Chiefs and looked incredibly human in the 30-27 loss after playing out of their minds on defense through the month of September.
Nobody needs to be panicking about Leonard and his coaching ability or the future of this group after one bad week and three very good ones, especially when the former comes against an all-time great play-caller who has a superhero for a quarterback and a Super Bowl MVP for a running back.
But to be the best, you've got to beat the best, as they say, and Las Vegas didn't approach that on Sunday. For his unit's worst performance of the year, Leonard will earn a very generous "C-" grade, even though a lot of folks probably have him in the "D" or "F" range. Let's dive in.
Raiders' Rob Leonard earns "C-" grade for several big miscues vs. Chiefs
Anyone watching could say that the Silver and Black simply couldn't stop the run. The Chiefs' offense gashed the Raiders for 177 yards on the ground in just 25 carries, which is over 7.0 yards per rush. That kind of effort is never going to get the job done; Las Vegas' run defense woes were exposed.
They also gave up 30 points, which was a season high and is rarely a recipe for success in the NFL, even if Klint Kubiak's offense is playing at a high level right now. And while the defense hit Patrick Mahomes a lot, they rarely got him to the ground, notching just 2.0 sacks and 17 total pressures.
And while the plan going into the game was to be aggressive, Leonard needs to learn when to dial it back. According to analyst Ryan Paganetti, the Raiders made crucial errors on three Cover 0 calls from Leonard, giving up a 41-yard completion, a 55-yard completion and a touchdown.
Blitzing Mahomes, especially with no safety help, is not a great idea. Asking players like Eric Stokes and Treydan Stukes to guard Xavier Worthy and Tyquan Thornton in 1-on-1s with no line of defense behind them is an even worse idea, and the Chiefs made Las Vegas pay dearly.
Giving up a 76-yard run isn't exactly a badge of honor, either. Maxx Crosby subbed out for one play, and Kansas City ran right where Crosby usually lines up. That is one that everyone has to see coming, and one that will be attacked when Crosby subs out until someone steps up in his place.
This unit also failed to step up when it needed to at the end of the game, giving up 20 fourth-quarter points after shutting out their previous three opponents in the final stanza. Reid had more cards in the deck to play than Leonard did, and the Raiders' young defensive coordinator was clearly outmatched.
How Las Vegas' defense avoided a "D" or "F" grade for poor showing vs. Kansas City
To absolve Leonard of some blame, let's talk about some of the things that don't fall on his shoulders. One is Nakobe Dean taking a bad angle and getting caught in the chaos instead of making the correct run fit on the aforementioned explosive run play from Kenneth Walker III.
Yes, the Raiders let Walker III back into the end zone quickly after the turnover, but it is not the fault of Leonard or the defense that Dareke Young fumbled the ball deep in Las Vegas territory. Could it have become 3 points for Kansas City instead of 7? Absolutely. And that was a momentum-swinging play.
But when the offense played some complementary football, and even when the special teams unit did let them down, the Raiders' defense was just fine in the first three quarters, limiting the Chiefs to 10 points. It would have been a different game if Las Vegas' offense got in the end zone more often.
And for as many yards as the Raiders gave up, if you take out the big explosive play, they allowed just 25 rushes for 101 yards, which is just over 4.0 yards per carry. Yes, the 76-yarder very much counts, but on a down-to-down basis, the unit was better, one could argue.
Walker III also broke just five tackles, which is nothing compared to the 11+ he was averaging before the contest. Wrapping up was an issue at times, but the unit actually did their job for the most part, and they came up with a few huge run stuffs to bail out the special teams unit.
The secondary, outside of their few big plays allowed, had five pass deflections and limited Mahomes to a relatively pedestrian 225 yards on just a 50.0% completion percentage, his lowest of the year by a solid margin. This game was defined on defense by giving up a few big plays.
Those are backbreaking and completely change the complexion, certainly. But Leonard's unit was not an utter failure throughout the ballgame. They crumbled in the fourth quarter and let the Chiefs get too many explosives while not coming through with any takeaways, as they had been.
Pressure was not tremendous on Mahomes, but it wasn't non-existent, either. This was a tough matchup against a legendary play-caller and quarterback, and Leonard had more than his share of wins and good moments. Below-average showing, but not the worst game possible, by a long shot.
Rob Leonard Report Card
Week 1 vs. Miami Dolphins: B (3.0)
Week 2 vs. Los Angeles Chargers: A- (3.7)
Week 3 vs. New Orleans Saints: B+ (3.3)
Week 4 vs. Kansas City Chiefs: C- (1.7)
GPA: 2.93
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