The Raiders are 3-0, and Sunday’s 35-27 road win over the New Orleans Saints only sharpened the question now hanging over Las Vegas: how much better can this team get?
Head coach Klint Kubiak has already turned plenty of heads, and the Raiders have gone from a team many outsiders dismissed to one that can at least start thinking about a playoff push. But that path gets a lot steeper unless a few key players raise their level.
This roster may not be loaded with star power, yet Kubiak is getting the most out of it. If the right guys pop, the Silver and Black can make life miserable in the postseason.
Before any of that, though, they have to survive the stretch directly in front of them.
Maxx Crosby is still the engine of the defense, even if the production has not matched the reputation so far. “The Condor” was barely a factor in Week 3, and that has been part of the story all season.
Offenses are chipping him or doubling him on nearly every snap, which opens the door for players like Malcolm Koonce to work one-on-one and make plays. Crosby has just one sack, third on the team, which is a rare note for a player who has led the Raiders in sacks every year of his career.
The bigger issue is what happened against the Saints: Tyler Shough was not pushed off his spot nearly enough. That has to change fast, because the Raiders’ schedule ahead includes elite quarterbacks.
On offense, the run game has another major question attached to it. Mike Washington Jr. has been outplaying Ashton Jeanty, a storyline that has been building since the preseason.
The 2026 fourth-round rookie has simply been getting more done than the 2025 No. 6 overall pick. Jeanty flashed real explosiveness against the Miami Dolphins, but against a competent defense the shine came off quickly.
The explosiveness has faded, and the dropped passes have become part of the picture too. Even with a better offensive line this season, “The Silver Surfer” is only averaging three yards per carry.
If the Raiders are going to knock off the NFL’s top teams, they need a run game that can take over. Jeanty has to be more of that player.
The other spot that has clearly changed is at free safety. Before this season, opposing quarterbacks had a simple plan against Las Vegas: locate Isaiah Pola-Mao and attack him.
That showed up again Sunday, when the safety gave up multiple touchdowns. Pola-Mao has a 45.6 PFF grade this season.
Treydan Stukes has been the opposite story. He already has an interception, and his play has been a major upgrade. John Spytek’s choice to take a safety in the second round instead of a defensive tackle or wide receiver surprised some Raiders fans, but it has already become one of the team’s biggest improvements from last season.
That will matter even more with the Kansas City Chiefs looming. Beating them will take a full-team effort, but Crosby, Jeanty and Stukes are the three players most likely to swing how far the Raiders can go.
In Other News...
Raiders Fans Face A Familiar Allegiant Problem Before Chiefs Game
When Allegiant Stadium opened, Raiders fans were told it would give the team a true home-field edge in Las Vegas. Instead, Sundays against Kansas City have often turned into a familiar sight, with plenty of red in the stands and visiting fans making the trip well in advance of kickoff. With the Chiefs coming to town again on Sunday, the Raiders are once more bracing for a crowd that will not look especially friendly.
Raider Nation Radio host JT the Brick has been pushing a message Raiders fans have heard before: keep the tickets in Raiders hands and do not let them end up with opposing fans. Projections suggest 64 percent of the crowd will be wearing silver and black, which would make the Chiefs contingent a little smaller than in some previous meetings, but the bigger question for Las Vegas remains the same. At Allegiant, the home crowd has had to fight to sound and feel like one for a while now. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Get A Brock Bowers Twist Right Before Chiefs Game
Brock Bowers popped up on the injury report Friday with an illness, giving the Raiders a late-week wrinkle heading into Sundays matchup with the Chiefs. The rookie tight end has quickly become one of the more important pieces of Las Vegas offense, and the timing of any concern around him is less than ideal with Kansas City on deck.
The good news for the Raiders is that Bowers is still expected to play, even after being listed questionable. He already worked through an early-season absence after a meniscus trim and came back with a strong showing in Week 3, so Las Vegas has reason to believe this latest issue is more of a brief nuisance than a real setback. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Make Intriguing Chiefs Gameday Shakeup With Young Talent Involved
Aidan OConnell is back in the mix for the Raiders on Sunday, and his return to emergency third-quarterback duty was part of a noticeable Week 4 shuffle as Las Vegas adjusted its game-day roster for the trip to face Kansas City. The bigger personnel wrinkle for the Raiders came on the defensive side, where rookie Dalton Johnson was active for the first time and stepped in at safety, giving the coaching staff a fresh look in the secondary.
Las Vegas also turned to JJ Pegues over Jonah Laulu, another sign that the Raiders were willing to make some young-player decisions on a short week of roster management. It all comes against a Chiefs team missing starting left tackle Josh Simmons, a development that could influence how the matchup unfolds up front even before the Raiders get a chance to test their own new combinations on defense. [Read more 🡒]