The Raiders left Week 2 with a 26-14 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, and the bigger takeaway may be this: Las Vegas is no longer looking up at the AFC West the way plenty of people expected. At 2-0, the Silver and Black have already flipped the conversation, and Klint Kubiak deserves plenty of credit for that start.
The most immediate read on the division came from Sunday’s own opponent. The Chargers are 0-2, and after a shocking loss to the Arizona Cardinals last week, this was supposed to be a response game.
Instead, it turned into another rough outing. Los Angeles’ interior offensive line was putrid, Justin Herbert has appeared to regress, Mike McDaniel's scheme looks rudimentary, and without Jesse Minter, this defense looks pedestrian.
Those first two weeks were supposed to be easy victories for the Chargers. Instead, they head into Week 3 with the implausible task of trying to beat the Buffalo Bills.
Kansas City, meanwhile, looked every bit like a team that put the Week 1 jitters behind it. The Chiefs’ offense was elite against the Indianapolis Colts, and the physical edge showed up again.
Kenneth Walker III rushed for 117 yards on 24 carries and added six receptions for 61 yards. Patrick Mahomes also looked like himself again after shaking off the rust in Week 1, finishing 32-of-47 for 382 yards and three touchdowns in the Chiefs’ 33-30 overtime win.
Kansas City had some defensive hiccups, but this is still a very young group that figures to settle in. The bigger picture is hard to miss: the Chiefs look back, and they look more physical than before.
Denver also gave the Raiders another data point to work with, even if the picture is still fuzzy. The Broncos were uneven at times, but they scored 17 unanswered points to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 20-13.
Waddle was a major part of that surge, catching eight passes for 138 yards on 10 targets. Denver’s offense came alive in the fourth quarter, which was a familiar pattern last season.
The Broncos host the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3, so there’s more to sort out, but they do seem to have a bona fide WR1 in Waddle.
As for where that leaves Las Vegas in the AFC West race, the path looks more open than expected. The Chargers were widely seen as the team the Raiders would be chasing from the bottom, but avoiding a fourth-place finish is now very much in play. Based on the first two weeks and what’s ahead on the schedule, Los Angeles is tracking toward being the worst team in the division.
The Broncos remain harder to pin down. The source of the uncertainty could be as simple as Bo Nix’s inconsistency, even though Denver has one of the deepest and most talented rosters in the league. Still, the Raiders have to treat them like a real divisional threat.
And then there’s Kansas City, which still looks like the team most likely to take back control of the AFC West. Mahomes is healthy, the offense has become multidimensional with an elite rushing attack, and the rebuilt defense appears ahead of schedule. Keeping pace with the Chiefs is going to be a tall order for Las Vegas, but for now, both teams sit at 2-0 atop the division.
In Other News...
Raiders May Finally Have Help For Maxx Crosby But One Doubt Remains
Malcolm Koonce gave the Raiders a much-needed glimpse of what their pass rush could look like around Maxx Crosby in Week 2 against the Chargers. Working in just 28 defensive snaps, Koonce came away with 1.5 sacks, three tackles, a forced fumble and multiple pressures, while also looking sharper off the line than he did a week earlier. The burst and conditioning were encouraging signs for a player the Raiders need to keep the heat on quarterbacks without asking Crosby to do everything himself.
Koonces showing was strong enough to suggest he can be a useful rotational piece, but the next test is a tougher one. Against top offensive linemen, he still has to close faster and turn pressure into cleaner finishes if the Raiders want their edge rush to rise from promising to dependable. The talent is there, and the recent uptick matters, but this is still the kind of development the Raiders will be tracking closely week to week. [Read more 🡒]
Tre Tucker Just Created A New Raiders Problem For Defenses
Tre Tucker gave the Raiders exactly the kind of jolt theyve been looking for in Week 2 against the Chargers, turning a strong outing into a reminder that Las Vegas has another receiver defenses have to account for. He finished with five catches for 119 yards and a touchdown, and his impact went beyond the obvious playmaking, with key receptions and run-blocking helping him stay involved even as attention naturally leaned elsewhere on the offense.
What makes Tuckers surge more interesting is what comes next. Tight end Brock Bowers is expected back soon, and his return could reshape how the Raiders distribute targets and create touches in the passing game. For a team that has been searching for reliable answers, Tucker has suddenly forced a new conversation about how much space there really is for everyone to stay featured. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Face A Bigger Marvin Harrison Jr. Question Than Fans Realize
The Raiders are already being linked to a wide receiver upgrade before next season, and the list of possibilities says plenty about how aggressive they may need to be. Trade ideas can always start with the biggest names, and Justin Jefferson naturally sits near the top of that conversation, especially with insider Hondo Carpenter noting there could be some appeal if Jefferson wanted to reunite with coach Klint Kubiak. The problem, of course, is that a player of that stature would cost a massive haul of draft capital, which is the kind of price tag that can reshape a roster as much as it improves one.
Marvin Harrison Jr. is the other name hovering around the discussion, and it comes with a very different kind of uncertainty. The Cardinals receiver has not delivered the level of impact many expected, which is why some around the league could wonder whether he might become available, but Carpenter has expressed skepticism about the fit and the value for Las Vegas. For the Raiders, the question is not just whether Harrison could be pried loose, but whether he would represent the right kind of investment if the team is going to spend real assets to solve a major need. [Read more 🡒]