The Raiders are staring at a tough ask in Week 10. They’ve dropped five of their last six, got blown out in Week 9, and now have to deal with the defending Super Bowl champions rolling into Allegiant Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Las Vegas does have one fresh wrinkle: Fernando Mendoza is set to make his first start. If he gives the offense a spark, the Raiders can at least make this interesting.
But that alone won’t be enough. For the Silver and Black to have any real shot at an upset, a handful of key matchups have to swing their way.
One of the biggest chess matches is on the sideline. Klint Kubiak knows this Seattle staff well, because he and several of his assistants helped that franchise win a Lombardi Trophy less than a year ago.
On the other side, Mike Macdonald brings a much stronger roster to the table, but the familiarity between these two play-callers could still matter. Kubiak’s offense may have to do the heavy lifting here, because the Raiders’ defense doesn’t look like it has much margin for error against what many view as the league’s best unit.
That puts a lot of pressure on Las Vegas’ tight ends to deliver. Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer have been a problem for opposing defenses, but Seattle may have the best answer for them in Nick Emmanwori and Devon Witherspoon.
If those two can limit Bowers and Mayer even a little, the Raiders’ offense could get stuck in the mud. If the tight ends keep rolling, Las Vegas can stay in the fight.
The other side of the passing game brings its own headache. Jaxon Smith-Njigba leads the NFL with 71 catches, 1,036 receiving yards and nine receiving touchdowns, and those numbers only hint at how dangerous he’s been.
The Raiders’ secondary has been too inconsistent to trust, and Smith-Njigba looks like the kind of receiver who can wreck a game by himself. The question isn’t whether he’ll make plays.
It’s whether Las Vegas can keep him around 100 yards, or whether he blows past 150 and takes over the afternoon. It’ll also be worth watching whether the Raiders lean on man coverage and who they put on him, maybe Jermod McCoy.
Mendoza’s first NFL start comes with a brutal assignment. Seattle’s defense is built on disguise and complexity, and Mike Macdonald’s group is about as tough as it gets to decode.
Still, Mendoza’s intelligence is one of his strengths, and this is the rare week where the opponent won’t have any film on him. If he can handle the chaos, it could keep the game within reach.
Then there’s the ground game, where the Raiders have been leaking badly. Rob Leonard’s defense hasn’t really slowed anyone down on the ground since Week 1, and Seattle’s backfield is finally healthy again with Zach Charbonnet and Jadarian Price both back.
If the Raiders can’t at least hold up against the run, it becomes even harder for Mendoza to settle in and find a rhythm. Right now, that matchup tilts Seattle’s way until Las Vegas proves otherwise.
In Other News...
Raiders May Finally Be Ready To Unleash Ashton Jeanty
Ashton Jeantys rookie season has already shown both sides of what makes him such an important piece for the Raiders. His rushing efficiency has dipped since Week 1, with injuries and uneven offensive line play helping to slow the ground game, but his impact has hardly disappeared. Even as the carries have been less explosive, Jeanty has become a major part of the passing attack, entering Week 10 as the NFLs leader among running backs in receptions and receiving yards.
Now the Raiders appear to be setting him up for a bigger second-half role after their trade for rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza. For a team that has been searching for more rhythm on offense, the move could open more space for Jeanty and give the running game a better chance to find traction. If the passing game and backfield usage start to sync up, Las Vegas may finally be ready to lean into the kind of weapon Jeanty was drafted to be. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Defensive Mess Now Puts Rob Leonard In The Spotlight
Following the loss to the 49ers, Rob Leonard found himself answering for a defense that has been too easy to score on and too inconsistent to trust. The Raiders defensive coordinator said he appreciated coach Klint Kubiaks public backing, but the bigger issue is the units play on the field, where Las Vegas has been giving up a league-worst 29.8 points per game this season.
Leonards comments landed on a day when Kubiak also made another notable call, announcing Fernando Mendoza as the starting quarterback for the next game. For a Raiders team trying to steady itself on both sides of the ball, the defensive conversation is now impossible to separate from the larger urgency around the roster, and Leonard is the one carrying the spotlight until the group starts showing more consistency. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Trade For Kirk Cousins Looks Different After Vikings Decision
Minnesotas decision to keep Kirk Cousins under center in Week 10 adds another layer to a trade that already had plenty of weight for Las Vegas. The Raiders sent Cousins to the Vikings in a deal that brought back a third-round pick, and the move now looks even more consequential given how much of the offense he had handled in 2026 before the swap.
For the Raiders, the trade was never just about moving on from a veteran quarterback, it was about betting on the value of the return and the direction of the roster. Cousins had started nine games in Las Vegas, completing 64.1 percent of his passes with 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions, so Minnesotas willingness to put him back in the lineup only sharpens the question of what the Raiders gave up and what they still need to answer at the position. [Read more 🡒]