The Raiders left Sunday night with a 33-30 loss to the Bills, but the performance told a much different story than the one from a week ago against the Patriots. This time, they were in it from start to finish against a team that looks like a front-runner to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.
That doesn’t make the result any easier to swallow. There are no moral victories when your manta is ‘Just Win, Baby!’ Still, the way the Raiders battled gave plenty of reason to think the organization is heading in the right direction.
Klint Kubiak’s group played with real edge against Buffalo. A week earlier, that wasn’t the case.
On Sunday, the Raiders fought for four quarters, and Rob Leonard’s defense made Josh Allen work for everything he got. Aside from Maxx Crosby and Nakobe Dean, there are not many recognizable names on that side of the ball, but the defense still pushed Allen to the brink.
The secondary clearly needs more experience, and that should come in time, but the effort was there. Offensively, execution was sharper too, and the Raiders showed again that they can hang with anybody.
A year ago, this same kind of game likely would have been over by halftime, with the Bills winning by 30.
Kirk Cousins also gave the Raiders a real shot. He showed toughness and heart, and he brought the kind of brain Kubiak’s offense needs.
But there are still throws he simply can’t make at 38 years old. Sunday was the first week where it felt like Fernando Mendoza might actually give the Raiders a chance to come back and win the game.
Then Cousins nearly did it himself. Two things have stood out lately: his release is slower than Mendoza’s, and his arm strength forces him to get the ball out with more anticipation on certain throws.
His margin for error on tight-window passes is almost nothing. Even so, he has been playing incredibly well with what he has at this point in his career.
If the Raiders lose to the Rams next week, the temptation to make a switch will be there. But the ideal landing spot still looks like November 29 against the Browns, if Cousins isn’t traded before the November 10 trade deadline.
Maxx Crosby also looked like himself again. There have been games lately where he seemed to fade a bit, but this was one of his best outings of the season.
It won’t jump off the stat sheet, but he brought the most energy he has shown all year and came painfully close to a few sacks that would have changed the game. Allen, though, reminded everyone why he’s so hard to beat when he’s rolling.
His third-quarter touchdown pass to Keon Coleman was one of the plays that tilted the game Buffalo’s way.
There are still holes on this roster, and guard remains one of the biggest. It feels like the Raiders get one bad guard performance every week, and this time it was Caleb Rogers, who missed a goal line block in the fourth quarter that likely cost them a touchdown.
For most teams, first and goal from the one-yard line is a layup. For the Raiders, it wasn’t.
At some point, the people making decisions in that building may need to start looking for guards in the offseason, because the moves the coaching staff has made there keep coming up short.
And then there’s Ashton Jeanty. The offensive line can’t take all the blame for his quiet production.
He looked better against the Bills than he has at times, but he still doesn’t look as explosive as he did at Boise State. The longer this goes on, the more it feels like that may just be the reality.
In Other News...
Klint Kubiaks Halftime Style Is Becoming A Raiders Flashpoint
Klint Kubiaks halftime act has become a small but noticeable part of the Raiders weekly conversation. The first-year head coach has kept his answers short on the broadcast set this season, including during a recent tied game against the Bills, and the style has split the audience in the way only NFL media moments can.
Some fans have taken it as a sign that Kubiak is focused and uninterested in the usual coach-speak, while others see it as needlessly curt. The scrutiny has only grown because his brief halftime appearances are now drawing attention beyond Las Vegas, turning what should be a routine interview into one more flashpoint around a team already under the microscope. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Suddenly Look Trapped In The Same Old Spiral
A month ago, the Raiders looked like they had finally shaken off the kind of sluggish start that has haunted this franchise before. Now the mood around Allegiant Stadium has flipped fast, after a home loss to Buffalo pushed Las Vegas into a three-game skid and reopened all the familiar questions about discipline, execution and whether the early surge was ever sustainable.
Klint Kubiak did not hide his frustration afterward, pointing to a team that keeps making life harder on itself with penalties, missed tackles and turnovers. The most troubling part, from the Raiders perspective, is how often the game has slipped away in the same places, with slow third-quarter starts and missed chances to close things out turning a promising opening into another uneasy ending. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Fans Are Split On How Long To Stick With Cousins
The debate around Kirk Cousins has become one of the more telling sideshows of the Raiders uneven start, with an ongoing RaiderRamble.com poll showing a clear majority of fans placing the bigger blame elsewhere. With the team sitting at 3-3, many voters see defensive lapses and offensive line problems as the more pressing issues, which has made Cousins less of a lightning rod than he might be elsewhere and kept the discussion focused on how much of the early inconsistency is really on the quarterback.
Fernando Mendozas presence only adds another layer to the conversation, because the Raiders are trying to balance a veteran bridge option with the longer view of developing a rookie. Some fans are already mapping out when they would like to see Mendoza get a look later in the season, which tells you how quickly the conversation can shift if the offense stalls again. For now, though, the split is less about one player being the answer and more about how long the Raiders should keep waiting before making a bigger move. [Read more 🡒]