It was the kind of opener Raiders fans could appreciate in a very specific way: the offensive line barely registered. Against the Miami Dolphins in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season, Las Vegas put together a performance up front that looked nothing like the mess from last year and much more like a unit starting to click.
That mattered because Rick Dennison’s group came into the season carrying plenty of offseason buzz and a whole lot of attention. The Raiders passed the first test. Kirk Cousins had time, Ashton Jeanty and Mike Washington Jr. found room, and the line handled a Dolphins front that, on paper, it should have handled.
The passing game told the clearest story. Cousins was not sacked once on Sunday, and he was hit only twice while being pressured seven times.
One of those hits came on full back Connor Heyward, while the other came on guard Spencer Buford, who was charged with four pressures. Jackson Powers-Johnson gave up the other two.
That left Kolton Miller, DJ Glaze and Tyler Linderbaum with clean sheets to start the year. ESPN’s Seth Walder pointed out that Miller and Glaze finished with the best and 3rd-best pass-block win rates in the league in Week 1, respectively.
For Glaze especially, that was a sharp turn from a year ago, when he allowed 10 sacks and 48 pressures. Miami’s Chop Robinson was no soft landing spot either, but Glaze held up, and the veteran tandem of Miller and Linderbaum did what veterans are supposed to do.
The numbers backed up the eye test. Las Vegas allowed the third-lowest pressure rate in the NFL in Week 1, even though Miami blitzed at the 8th-highest rate in the league. In other words, the Dolphins tried to turn up the heat and still couldn’t break through.
Part of that was design. Kubiak’s plan helped Cousins get the ball out quickly, which cut down on the time Miami’s rush had to work. That was a smart setup, and it made the line’s job easier without taking away from what the group did well.
The run game had its own reasons to feel encouraging. Heyward gave the Raiders a physical presence as a lead back, and he helped by taking on defenders as both a runner and a blocker.
That extra layer matters, but the line did the heavy lifting too. Las Vegas finished with 130 rushing yards, with Jeanty averaging 4.4 yards per carry and Washington Jr. checking in at 5.9.
Neither back needed a giant splash play to make the numbers work.
By the end, the Raiders’ team average dipped to 3.5 yards per carry, but that came with Miami selling out against the run as it chased the game and Las Vegas worked to bleed the clock. The total also included three kneel-downs by Cousins, which makes the practical number 4.0. Either way, the point stands: this was an every-down operation.
There were still some rough edges. Buford’s missed screen block and four pressures stood out, and Powers-Johnson’s two pressures were part of the blemishes too.
Pro Football Focus also gave both of them poor run-blocking grades. That said, neither player looked like a disaster on Sunday, and this is more fine-tuning than panic.
Still, the schedule does not give Las Vegas much room to relax. The Los Angeles Chargers are next in Week 2, and the rest of the road gets tougher from there.
If Cousins struggles to push the ball downfield, the Raiders’ plan to lean on Jeanty and the ground game becomes harder to execute. And if defenses start stacking the box, the line won’t have the same clean paths to work with.
Even with those concerns, Sunday was a real step forward. The Raiders looked more polished, more coordinated and more comfortable than they did a year ago, and the scheme asked more of them than before. Dennison has the experience to keep pushing this group along, and that matters with what Kubiak wants from the offense.
The opener wasn’t perfect. It didn’t need to be.
It was enough to show that this offensive line is better, better coached and already more trustworthy. For the Raiders, that’s a very good place to start.
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