Tom McMahon was the Las Vegas Raiders' special teams coordinator for the last four seasons, but the Silver and Black got progressively worse in that phase during his tenure. Things culminated in his being fired following several big blunders in a Week 10 loss to the Denver Broncos last year.
Only A.J. Cole was impervious to the Raiders' poor special teams play, as Daniel Carlson's kicking got substantially worse over time, the team gave up several blocked kicks and punts in crucial moments, failed to properly cover kicks and punts, and had almost zero notable returns, with no touchdowns.
But Joe DeCamillis came in this offseason to lead the group, and John Spytek and Klint Kubiak added several notable special-teamers to the roster. And it made a world of difference in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season, as Las Vegas' special teams unit was obviously much improved.
That said, they have two clear steps forward that they must take to become among the league's best.
Raiders' new-look special teams unit: The good
I'd be remiss if I didn't start with Dylan Laube, who busted two big kick returns in the contest. His 50- and 45-yard returns gave the Raiders great field position, and the offense was able to come through with touchdowns on both possessions. That wasn't happening this time last year.
Rookie Malik Benson also did himself and the team proud on punt returns, as he totaled 35 yards in the two that he fielded, including a 23-yarder that kickstarted a Las Vegas field goal drive. Thanks to Benson and Laube, the Silver and Black easily won the field position battle on Sunday.
As far as the kicking department, Matt Gay was lights out, connecting on both field goal attempts, including a long of 47 yards, and made all three of his extra points. Cole did what he does, booming three punts for 190 yards, which is a crazy 63.3 yards-per-punt average, which included a 72-yarder.
Las Vegas also made a really nice play on one of Cole's punts, as Dareke Young downed the ball on the Miami 3-yard line. Again, DeCamillis' unit wasn't perfect, but there was a lot of good, and they avoided disastrous plays like allowing blocks, muffing returns, missing kicks or blading punts.
Raiders' new special teams unit: The bad
Every rose has its thorns. For the Raiders, the thorns in their side were penalties and poor coverage. Although not ruinous, Las Vegas did get flagged twice in the game on special teams, as Caleb Rogers lined up offside and Alex Ward seemingly didn't snap it on the right count.
Two penalties for 10 yards did not kill the Silver and Black in this game, but against better foes or in closer ballgames, it might. And it's just Week 1, so miscues happen; the Raiders can learn from this. But it is certainly something to clean up heading into Week 2 and beyond.
The bigger issue was Las Vegas' leakages in coverage on both kick and punt returns. Cole somewhat outkicked his coverage on his 72-yard boot, and the Dolphins were able to get a 17-yard return out of it. A balance needs to be struck here, as Miami got better field position than they should have.
Obviously, the big leak was the Dolphins' 79-yard kickoff return that would have scored, had it not been for the superhero effort of Cody White to chase him down. But the practice squad elevation may not be active every game day, and the Raiders can't let it get to that point in the first place.
Thankfully, Las Vegas' defense stiffened up, and a good rush on a field goal caused Miami to miss the attempt, so ultimately, this was no harm, no foul. But it won't always be that way in this league, so DeCamillis' group has a lot to work on, in addition to a lot to be proud of.
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