The Raiders had to survive a wild swing of momentum, but they walked out of Sunday at 3-0 for only the second time since 2002.
Las Vegas trailed 27-22 entering the fourth quarter before ripping away control with four takeaways in the final period and turning that chaos into a 35-27 win over New Orleans. It was a game that flipped fast, then flipped again, and the Raiders were the team that kept landing the final punch.
New Orleans looked like it had seized the night in the third quarter. Tyler Shough found Juwan Johnson on a 1-yard touchdown pass, then the Raiders coughed up the ensuing kickoff. Shough made the next shot count too, hitting Noah Fant from 16 yards out to push the Saints ahead 27-16 with 5:46 left in the quarter.
Las Vegas answered with a burst of its own. Mike Washington broke free for a 36-yard touchdown run to finish a quick five-play drive, though the two-point try failed and the Raiders still trailed 27-22.
That’s when the game unraveled for New Orleans.
Shough lost the ball on a strip-sack in Las Vegas territory on third-and-4 from the Raiders 29. Kirk Cousins then connected with Cody White on a 4-yard touchdown to put Las Vegas in front 28-27 with 9:21 left.
The Saints never settled back in. Shough’s interception set up another Raiders score, and Cousins found Brock Bowers on a 4-yard touchdown for a 35-27 cushion. Bowers was making his 2026 debut, and he looked like himself right away.
New Orleans had one more chance, but the mistakes kept coming. Shough was strip-sacked again with 2:21 left on fourth-and-1 deep in Las Vegas territory. Even after the Saints got the ball back, Johnson fumbled with just under a minute remaining, and the Raiders recovered to close it out.
Cousins finished 22-of-33 for 248 yards with three touchdowns. It made him the first quarterback in team history to throw at least three passing touchdowns in each of the club’s first three games. He’s also the first since Lamar Jackson in 2022 to do that in each of his team’s first three games.
Bowers was electric in his return, catching 10 passes on 13 targets for 116 yards and a touchdown after undergoing a meniscus trim.
For New Orleans, Shough went 29-of-42 for 255 yards with four touchdowns, one interception and two lost fumbles. Chris Olave led the Saints with nine catches for 107 yards.
The Raiders also reached a scoring mark they hadn’t hit since a 63-21 win over the Chargers on a Thursday night in December 2023. And as the CBS broadcast pointed out, the game tied an NFL record with six touchdown receptions by tight ends - matching the only other such game, Chargers vs. Raiders in 1981.
Next up, the 3-0 Raiders host another 3-0 team in the Chiefs in an AFC West showdown. The Saints, now 1-2, return home to face the 1-2 Falcons on Monday night.
In Other News...
Raiders Win Streak Cant Hide One Defensive Concern
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Still, the tape left at least one uneasy note for a defense that has otherwise benefited from the winning run. Safety Isaiah Pola-Mao had a rough afternoon against New Orleans, and rookie Masses also ran into problems in coverage on Chris Olave, a reminder that even while the results are stacking up, there are still vulnerable spots for opponents to attack. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Just Exposed One Problem That Could Matter Vs Chiefs
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Even with the offense trending up, the defensive side still has a wrinkle worth watching as the schedule tightens. Isaiah Pola-Maos performance against New Orleans spotlighted a spot that opponents can press, and the possible return of Treydan Stukes adds another layer to how Las Vegas may try to patch things before a matchup with the Chiefs brings a much sharper test. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders 3-0 Start Still Comes With A Warning Fans Can't Ignore
The Raiders are 3-0 after knocking off the New Orleans Saints in Week 3, and the early record has given the rebuilding group under head coach Klint Kubiak a much-needed boost. Even so, the win came with reminders that this version of the team is still very much a work in progress, with issues showing up on both sides of the ball as the season gets rolling.
Run defense and pass protection remain among the bigger concerns, which kept the game from feeling as clean as the standings suggest. Las Vegas still found enough to finish the job, thanks in part to contributions from Mike Washington and Bowers, but the kind of uneven performance that can be hidden in September will need to tighten up before the next stretch of games gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]