The Las Vegas Raiders open the 2026 NFL season at home against the Miami Dolphins, and the matchup gives Raider Nation its first real look at a Klint Kubiak-led team. On paper, Miami looks like the softer side of the pairing, but Las Vegas still has to handle a few specific problems if it wants to walk out with a Week 1 win.
The clearest challenge starts with De'Von Achane. He’s the engine of the Dolphins’ offense and is coming off a huge 2025 season, one that featured 1,350 rushing yards and a 5.7 yards-per-carry average.
He isn’t the goal-line hammer, but he can wreck a defense with chunk gains, and PFF credited him with 24 runs of 15 yards or more, the most in the NFL. For the Raiders, that means crowding the line, getting to the ball fast and making sure the safeties are active and reliable tacklers.
Achane can get impatient, so Las Vegas has to close space quickly and prevent him from turning a crease into a big play.
Offensively, the Raiders should lean into the edges of the Dolphins’ defense. Miami’s edge players, including Chop Robinson and Josh Uche, aren’t known for holding up as run stoppers, which creates an opening for Las Vegas to attack with tosses and wide zone runs.
That approach would put pressure on Miami’s defensive ends and outside linebackers to actually set the edge, while DJ Glaze and Kolton Miller work to move bodies. If the Raiders can get that ground game going, it could also force Miami’s young corners and safeties into more tackling duty.
With Mike Washington Jr. and Ashton Jeanty in the mix, that’s a test the Dolphins may not welcome.
The third key is protection, especially for DJ Glaze. His main assignment in pass protection is Robinson, and that’s a matchup that has already gone badly for him both in college and in their NFL meeting.
Letting Glaze handle Robinson alone would be asking for trouble. Robinson and Uche win with speed, and even with improvement, Glaze is still vulnerable against that kind of burst at the NFL level.
Kubiak will need to build in help for him, whether that comes from Connor Heyward, Ian Thomas, chips or other adjustments.
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The bigger concern for the Raiders is that no specific return timeline has been set, which makes Bowers absence feel less like a short detour and more like the start of a cautious waiting game. Given the teams awareness of his previous knee issues, this is clearly a situation Las Vegas is handling carefully, but it also means the offense has to be ready for an early stretch without the player it was built to feature. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Week 1 Inactives Include One Surprise Fans Didnt See Coming
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For a team sorting through roster decisions and health questions in the opening week, the inactive list offered an early look at how the Raiders want to shape the sideline mix against Miami. Some of the names were expected because of injury or recent acquisition status, but Lindenbergs designation stood out as the one fans probably did not have circled when the day began. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Face One Big Maxx Crosby Question Before The Deadline
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Even with that stance, the phone lines are not likely to go quiet. The Eagles, Cowboys and 49ers have all shown interest, and Dallas has emerged as the club that could make the strongest push if it decides to act before the deadline. For the Raiders, the question is no longer whether Crosby has value. It is how long they can hold onto one of the leagues most coveted pass rushers while the rest of the market keeps probing. [Read more 🡒]