The Las Vegas Raiders' defense had a great showing in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season against the Miami Dolphins. Rob Leonard, in his first official game as an NFL defensive coordinator, and his unit dominated, holding the Dolphins to just 13 points, notching five sacks and forcing two turnovers.
Even the advanced stat metrics prove how well Las Vegas' defense played in the opener, as the Raiders ranked first in Havoc Rate and seven in expected points added in the NFL. They were also great on third down and made big stops with a fluid, well-coached defense.
What fans saw on Sunday was a glimpse into Leonard's very creative mind. He has a history with some of the NFL's top defensive play-callers, as he worked with Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike McDonald in Baltimore and previously with Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
Leonard's scheme, of course, is proving to have some similarities with McDonald's, which is good because the Seahawks have one of the NFL's best defenses. Leonard ran a game plan with multiple fronts and post-snap movement in the secondary that would confuse the average NFL quarterback.
So, let's jump into the tape.
Rob Leonard's creativity with Raiders' secondary cause chaos for Dolphins
Last season, with Pete Carroll as head coach (and Patrick Graham as the pseudo-DC), there wasn’t much diversity in the secondary. With Leonard now calling the plays, fans are seeing exotic coverages that help the pass rush and force the quarterback to hold the ball longer.
While the secondary has a lot to clean up before Week 2, they also contributed a lot to the Week 1 win. A great example was defensive end Kwity Paye's early sack. The Raiders' defense has Treydan Stukes closer to the line of scrimmage at first, forcing Malik Willis to think about the coverage.
After the snap, Eric Stokes communicates well and takes away the corner route. Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean provide great depth and clog the windows, while Taron Johnson and Jeremy Chinn play the flats well.
The coverage and communication make Willis hold the ball and help lead to Paye’s first sack as a Raider.
This next play shows how detailed coverage can get with a innovative play-caller. Stukes starts initially as the post safety in Cover 3, and Chinn is the box safety. When the ball is snapped, they switch, with Stukes becoming the box safety and Chinn dropping back as the post safety.
Because they change it up, Willis is confused, and Stukes does a good job not playing grass and helps Dean on the over route. It leads to an incompletion and a major win for the defense as Miami was threatening at midfield.
These types of coverages could be why the Raiders surprise teams in 2026. Their attention to detail and commitment to the game show that the coaching staff is putting in the work. With buy-in from the players, Las Vegas could be one of the league's most improved defenses.
And the best part? Maxx Crosby said on his podcast that the Raiders didn't even do anything "crazy" on defense in Week 1. Hopefully, there are more wrinkles to come.
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