The Raiders left New Orleans with a win, but Week 3 was the first time this season the rough edges really showed.
Las Vegas entered Sunday 2-0 and carrying the kind of early momentum that can make a rebuild look a little further along than it really is. The Raiders knew better.
Inside that locker room, the message has stayed the same: this is still a work in progress. And against the Saints, the growing pains were impossible to miss.
For much of the afternoon, the defense did not get the kind of pressure it had created in the first two weeks. Tyler Shough was able to settle in and keep the Saints moving, and New Orleans spent the game attacking the Raiders in ways that clearly tested the group. The Saints leaned on balance, ran the ball nearly as often as they threw it before the fourth quarter, and used that ground game to open up the rest of the offense.
That approach exposed a road blueprint that opponents are likely to keep using against Las Vegas. Stop Ashton Jeanty, make Kirk Cousins carry the offense, and heat up the pocket.
Mix in a steady run game, work third-and-short, and keep the tempo high with no-huddle looks. That’s the formula both New Orleans and the Los Angeles Chargers have shown.
The Raiders’ defense still did enough to keep the game alive. Even while struggling to slow the run, it held up long enough for Las Vegas to stay within striking distance when the Saints struck twice in less than a minute of game time and built a double-digit lead.
Then the offense finally found a jolt. Rookie running back Mike Washington ripped off a 36-yard touchdown run that changed the feel of the game, and tight end Bowers made his return count in a big way.
Bowers led the Raiders with more than 115 receiving yards on 10 catches, looked dominant throughout, and most importantly looked healthy. His touchdown ended up being the score that put Las Vegas ahead for good, even on a throw that might not have been completed to a different target.
Cousins did not have much room to work with for most of the day. He was under pressure often and took three sacks, and the Raiders’ offense had trouble running the ball for long stretches. The unit only found its rhythm late, after both sides had spent most of the game fighting uphill.
The defense had its own issues, too, and the absence of rookie Treydan Stukes was noticeable. Las Vegas did solve some problems down the stretch on both sides of the ball, but the Saints made sure the Raiders had to earn every bit of this one.
Still, the result was the result. Las Vegas has now won three straight, and each one has looked a little different from the last. Sunday was messy, but the Raiders found a way again.
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Kirk Cousins threw three touchdown passes, Brock Bowers made his 2026 debut with a touchdown, and the game wound up matching an NFL record with six scoring catches by tight ends. The bigger takeaway for the Raiders is what came after the break, when they flipped the game by forcing four fourth-quarter turnovers, the kind of surge that will linger once Chiefs week arrives. [Read more 🡒]