The Raiders gave their fans plenty to like in Week 1, but last season’s collapse is sitting there like a warning label. Las Vegas opened 2025 with a win over the Miami Dolphins, and that’s enough to fuel hope. It is not enough to start drawing a straight line to bigger things.
That’s the lesson from last year. The Raiders beat the Patriots in New England to open the Pete Carroll era, and the reaction got loud fast.
Then came the crash: 14 losses in the next 15 games. Meanwhile, the Patriots surged all the way to the AFC title, the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks dropped their opener, and the Denver Broncos, the AFC’s No. 1 seed, barely got past the Tennessee Titans at home.
The Houston Texans lost. The Chicago Bears lost.
The New York Jets pushed the Pittsburgh Steelers to the edge. The Washington Commanders won.
The Arizona Cardinals won. Week 1 can point you in a direction, but it is a lousy place to plant a flag.
So yes, Raider Nation has every reason to feel good. Just don’t confuse a strong first step with a finished product.
Against Miami, Geno Smith looked like the Raiders’ best quarterback since Rich Gannon. Dont'e Thornton Jr. showed up as one of the team’s leading receivers.
Devin White, Germaine Pratt and Jamal Adams flashed as a dangerous linebacker group. Tyree Wilson was active, and Eric Stokes struggled.
Plenty of people saw all that and assumed it would keep rolling. It didn’t take long for those expectations to get checked.
That’s the trap with opening weekend. The stage is huge, the emotions are real, and the sample size is tiny. One game can make everything feel certain when nothing is.
The Raiders did play well against the Dolphins, but the performance wasn’t spotless. Winning by two scores is exactly what they should have done, yet the offense clearly lost some of its edge in the second half.
And while Miami was on the schedule, this wasn’t exactly a heavyweight test. The Dolphins are widely viewed as a team built to lose games this season, so Las Vegas beating them doesn’t automatically mean the Raiders are something they’re not.
There are still real questions ahead, especially if Kirk Cousins can’t consistently push the ball downfield. That showed up late against Miami, and tougher defenses are not likely to be so forgiving.
Rob Leonard’s defense looked stout in his debut, but there were cracks. Better opponents may be able to exploit the coverage busts or get home more quickly, even if the Raiders piled up pressures and sacks overall.
And not every week ends with the other team handing you a huge kick return deep in your own territory and walking away without points.
None of that erases the win. Kubiak and his staff have every right to feel good about the result. But it does mean the proper reaction is optimism, not inflation.
There’s also plenty to be encouraged by. Brock Bowers wasn’t even out there, and he’s the centerpiece of the offense.
Las Vegas still put up 27 without him, which says something about the ceiling when he’s available. The roster is young, the coaching staff is new, and the teachers on that staff should keep developing as the season moves along.
That matters.
And there’s another reason for real confidence: Fernando Mendoza. The belief here is that he can run this offense at a higher level than Kirk Cousins. When the job eventually shifts to Mendoza, the Raiders should be even better.
That’s the sweet spot for this team right now. Be happy about Week 1.
Be excited, even. Just don’t turn one good Sunday into a promise.
Expectations bring pressure, and pressure has a way of creating disappointment. Optimism is the better play.
In Other News...
Kwity Paye Is Already Changing What Raiders Can Do Up Front
Kwity Payes first game with the Raiders gave Las Vegas something it has been looking for up front: another defender who can make the quarterback uncomfortable without needing everything to run through Maxx Crosby. Paye showed up across the stat sheet with sacks, quarterback hits, pressures, tackles and stops, and the bigger takeaway was how quickly he fit into a role that asks him to work alongside Crosby rather than simply chase production on his own.
That pairing matters because Paye also brings versatility, lining up in multiple spots and giving the Raiders more ways to shape their front. For a defense that already leans on Crosby to tilt protections and dictate attention, having another edge presence who can move around changes the way opponents have to prepare. It is early, but the first impression was enough to suggest Las Vegas may have found a front-seven piece that opens up more options than the box score alone can show. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Just Got Early AFC West Hope Few Fans Expected
The Raiders opened the 2026 season with a home win over the Dolphins, and that alone would have been enough to leave Las Vegas feeling better about itself after the summer buildup. What made the first Sunday even more interesting for the AFC West race was the way the rest of the division shook out, with the Chargers falling to the Cardinals while the Chiefs handled the Broncos.
For a fan base that has spent plenty of time looking up at Kansas City, the early standings offered an unusual bit of breathing room. It is only Week 1, of course, and the division still runs through the Chiefs, but the Raiders at least got the kind of start that can keep hope alive longer than most people expected. [Read more 🡒]
Kirk Cousins Just Gave Raiders Fans Real Hope At Quarterback
The Raiders had plenty of questions at quarterback when they brought in veteran Kirk Cousins to serve as the bridge while rookie Fernando Mendoza develops into the long-term answer. In Week 1, Cousins helped settle things down by guiding Las Vegas to a win over the Miami Dolphins, and the bigger takeaway was not just the result but the way he kept the offense on schedule with steady, sustained drives.
For a team staring at a difficult stretch ahead, that kind of competence matters. The plan has been straightforward from the start, with Cousins expected to provide solid play for part of the season while Mendoza gets his footing, but early wins have a way of changing the temperature around a season and making the quarterback conversation feel a little less settled than it did in the summer. [Read more 🡒]