The Raiders’ first loss of the season didn’t just show up on the scoreboard. It clarified a lot about who Las Vegas is right now.
A 3-0 start had been built on a defense that was taking the ball away at a near-elite rate and piling up sacks with the best of them. That unit set the tone, and it let an offense that could be opportunistic avoid too many self-inflicted wounds.
Against the Chiefs, though, that formula got stressed. Las Vegas didn’t force a turnover, the offense had to carry more of the load, and it was doing so against one of the NFL’s better defenses.
Even so, the Raiders were right there until the end, falling by three points to Kansas City.
Now the focus shifts quickly to Week 5, where Las Vegas is back on the practice field preparing for its third road game in four weeks. The opponent is a Patriots team that’s 2-2, fresh off a Super Bowl appearance in 2025-26 and armed with a defense that sits in the top 10 in both yards and points allowed per game. New England has also beaten the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills.
For the Raiders, the message internally is simple: stay locked on the next task and don’t drift into the bigger picture.
“I just worry about us. Not thinking as much about them, other than the game, the team we're playing this week schematically and player-wise,” Kubiak said before Wednesday’s practice.
“But as far as what we're trying to build is, we're just trying to win, trying to win every game, just like every team the NFL is. That is our mindset, just to win.
Not to build or rebuild or anything. Just looking at the next game and competing and winning that game."
The loss to Kansas City also gave future opponents a little more to study, which makes every week of practice matter even more for a team that has already shown both sides of its identity. The Raiders have enough going for them to feel good about where they are, but in a league this fast-moving, that can change in a hurry.
Kubiak’s staff has already shown it can put players in position to succeed with smart game plans and adjustments. But that only matters if the work during the week is sharp, and Kirk Cousins said the team understands that.
“I think we just have so much to be focused on now moving forward that keeps our attention on today, really. The game plan and all that it takes to put together a great Wednesday.
So, I think so. But that's what mature teams got to do is be able to respond and look ahead and keep pushing no matter what happens,” Cousins said before practice on Wednesday.
“It is early, but I think you just go right back to work. I think Monday, we had good workouts, good meetings.
Tuesday, a lot of guys are in here doing a myriad of things, and so you just go through your weekly process, your rhythm, your routine. And I think we as a team, we as individuals, have a good process we're going to stick to and trust that that’ll get us ready for what we got to do on Sunday."
In Other News...
Maxx Crosby Just Took The Mahomes Rivalry Somewhere Personal
Maxx Crosby has never been shy about the Patrick Mahomes matchup, but he took the familiar Raiders-Chiefs edge in a more personal direction during an episode of his podcast, The Rush. Crosby talked about the ongoing physical and psychological chess match he and Mahomes seem to play every time they line up across from each other, a rivalry built as much on stubbornness and feel as it is on pass-rush production.
Crosby also pointed to one of the stranger details of the matchup, saying Mahomes makes unusual vocal sounds when he gets tackled. It is the kind of observation that only comes from repeated collisions and plenty of time spent trying to get inside an opponents head, and Crosby has done plenty of both, piling up 6.5 sacks and 49 quarterback pressures against Mahomes in his career. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Loss Put A Few Veterans On Notice Fast
The Raiders first game of the 2026 season against the Chiefs offered an early look at where the roster already looks solid and where the margin for error is thin. A few veterans came out of the opener with some encouragement attached to their names, including Spencer Burford, who held up better in pass protection, while the team also got reminders that one play can tilt a game fast in a division matchup.
Kwity Paye did not make much of an imprint on the defensive side, and Dareke Youngs fumble on a kickoff return became the kind of mistake that can swing momentum before a team has settled in. In a loss that doubled as an evaluation game, the Raiders found enough positives to keep building on, but the individual letdowns also made clear which players will have to answer quickly the next time they take the field. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Catch A Break As Patriots Defense Enters Week 5 Shorthanded
The Raiders Week 5 prep got a little more interesting when the Patriots opened the week with a long injury list on defense, including eight players who were absent from the first practice. For a Las Vegas offense looking to build momentum, the timing matters, because New Englands depth chart is already being tested before the game even gets into full swing.
Christian Gonzalez and Christian Barmore were among the most notable names, with Gonzalez expected to remain out and Barmore possibly limited to some activities. The Patriots do have a few players on injured reserve who are eligible to return, but coach Mike Vrabel said it does not sound like any of them are likely to be activated this week, leaving the Raiders with a clearer path to attack a defense that may be piecing things together on the fly. [Read more 🡒]