The Raiders head into AFC West play this weekend with a trip to SoFi Stadium, where they’ll face the Los Angeles Chargers at 1:05 pm PT on CBS. It’s the beginning of a stretch that looks anything but forgiving for a rebuilding team. Las Vegas won’t hit its “easy” portion of the schedule until Thanksgiving Weekend, so this next three-plus-month run figures to be a real test.
At the center of it all is quarterback Kirk Cousins, who made his Las Vegas debut against the Miami Dolphins last weekend. He finished with 160 passing yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, and the outing showed exactly what this offense is willing to be right now: efficient in the middle of the field, quick to get the ball out, and ready to live with the results.
Cousins pointed first to the people protecting him. He said the offensive line gave him the kind of pocket he needed to work comfortably, while the rest of the offense played with urgency around him.
“[The offensive line] did a great job of creating pockets where I had time,” Cousins shared with reporters this week. “I was able to take three hitches at times.
Our coaches did a great job with the scheme, giving us clean pockets, and then people were playing with urgency and I think all that kind of comes together to create a day where I don't wake up too sore on Monday. But the guys did a great job up front."
The bigger issue showed up when the Raiders needed a real vertical threat. The lack of a true downfield playmaker at X receiver was hard to ignore against Miami, and both Klint Kubiak and Cousins acknowledged the challenge of trying to create explosive plays in today’s defensive climate.
“I feel like defenses around the league have really tried their best to prevent explosives if it means the run game is a little more effective then so be it,” Cousins explained. “But defenses, I think are willing to give up some runs in order to make sure they're getting deeper than the deepest and putting more players back there."
“So, it's that dance all game, all season of how aggressive do defenses want to be, and then how do we counter that? Shots will get called.
You got to try to get them. If they're not there, then you got to check it down, and you got to play for the next play, and vice versa.
When we have a chance down the field, and they give us one, we got to take advantage of it."
Cousins remains a respected voice in the locker room, but the article makes clear that he’s no longer the kind of quarterback who can regularly generate big-time throws with arm strength alone. That leaves the Raiders in a pretty defined lane for most of the season, and it also puts a spotlight on tight ends Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer in spots they shouldn’t have to carry.
The obvious question is whether Tre Tucker can grow into that vertical option. For now, though, the expectation is that the deeper parts of the field may stay mostly closed off.
The article points to rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza as the only real hope for a more legitimate downfield attack, and it says he should make his debut at some point this season. Until then, this is the reality Las Vegas has to work with.
In Other News...
Raiders Coaching Search Could Create A New Legal Problem
A Raiders coaching search from the recent past has surfaced in a very different kind of spotlight, as a subpoenaed Korn Ferry document has become part of the Brian Flores litigation and is now being fought over under a protective order. Korn Ferry wants the material to stay sealed, while Floress legal team is pressing to see it, arguing the document could matter to claims of discrimination or retaliation tied to NFL hiring practices.
What makes the issue especially relevant for Las Vegas is that the document is connected to a Raiders search, possibly one conducted after Feb. 1, 2022, and could have implications beyond the original hiring process. The broader concern is whether it may shed light on coaching decisions that still echo into 2024, 2025 and even 2026, leaving the Raiders with another legal thread hanging over a subject that has already drawn plenty of league-wide scrutiny. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Already Have A New Line Leader Fans Will Love
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Kubiak and Cousins both singled out the way Linderbaum handled himself, which is exactly the sort of early signal a coaching staff loves to see from a new line leader. The Raiders do not need a highlight reel from their center, but they do need steadiness, command and trust, and Linderbaum seems to have checked those boxes right away. For a team trying to establish a dependable identity, that is a promising place to begin. [Read more 🡒]
Tom Bradys Role In The Raiders Offense Just Got More Involved
Tom Bradys presence around the Raiders has gone well beyond the ceremonial side of ownership. As a minority owner, he has stepped into a leadership role and is now giving quarterback Kirk Cousins direct football advice, with Cousins saying he has a direct line to Brady for conversations about the offense and even got confirmation on a play from him recently.
For Las Vegas, that matters because the quarterback room still has clear stakes attached to it. The Raiders plan to keep Cousins as the starter as long as he performs well, and there are no immediate plans to turn to Fernando Mendoza, which makes Bradys input part of a bigger effort to steady the offense while the team sorts out how it wants the position to look moving forward. [Read more 🡒]