Ashton Jeanty wasted no time making his presence felt, and the Las Vegas Raiders wasted no time showing off a different kind of offense in Klint Kubiak’s debut.
Las Vegas opened the season with a 27-13 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium, and the biggest takeaway was hard to miss: the Raiders looked far sturdier up front, and Jeanty looked every bit like the player they drafted him to be with the 2025 No. 6 pick. He finished with 147 total yards and two receiving touchdowns, setting the tone for a win that felt built on cleaner pockets, better blocking and more space to operate.
That shift up front was the story of the afternoon. A year after the Raiders’ offensive line allowed a league-high 64 sacks and helped drag down the passing game, Kirk Cousins had room to work in his regular-season debut for Las Vegas.
He was sharp right away, going 14-for-17 for 96 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, including the 300th passing touchdown of his career. Cousins kept the ball moving quickly, but he also had the kind of protection that let him stay calm and decisive.
He finished 21-of-30 for 160 yards and three touchdowns, and his third scoring throw gave him 301 for his career, moving him past John Elway for 14th all time. Cousins did throw two interceptions - one to Dolphins rookie Michael Taaffe early in the third quarter and another to Dante Trader Jr. in the fourth - but those mistakes came after he’d already spent most of the game operating from clean pockets.
The Raiders’ run game looked transformed, too. Jeanty had room to accelerate and cut, with new center Tyler Linderbaum helping drive the interior.
He was rarely getting swallowed up in the backfield the way he was as a rookie, and that freedom showed. Jeanty finished with 102 yards on 23 carries, including a strong third-down run in the third quarter when he kept driving forward for extra yards after contact.
Mike Washington also chipped in with seven carries for 41 yards, adding another layer to a ground game that finally had some pop. For a Raiders offense missing Brock Bowers, Jeanty clearly stepped into the focal-point role.
His work as a receiver may have been even more encouraging. Jeanty caught six passes for 45 yards and two touchdowns, giving the Raiders a real weapon out of the backfield rather than just a way to get him the ball in space.
Last season, he caught 55 passes for 346 yards and five touchdowns, but Sunday’s version of that production looked different - more dynamic, more dangerous, and more like a matchup problem. He ran routes downfield, found openings against linebackers and defensive backs, and made the Dolphins pay.
That same improved structure helped the Raiders’ pass rush, too, and Maxx Crosby looked like himself again. Crosby finished with 1.5 sacks and was disruptive enough early to help open chances for teammates Kwity Paye, who had two sacks, and Folorunso Fatukasi, who added 0.5. When Miami had to throw late, Crosby closed in.
He beat Miami left tackle Patrick Paul on a third-down rush for his first sack of the season, pushing his career total past 70 and making him the third Raiders player to reach that mark. On the next third down, he beat Austin Jackson and combined with Paye for another half-sack.
Crosby wasn’t on the field for every snap, though, and the Raiders appeared to manage his workload by keeping him off the field for stretches before bringing him back to finish drives. However they handled it, the result was the same: he was fresh enough to matter when the game tilted toward the pass rush.
Miami’s side of the story belonged to Malik Willis, who showed both the upside and the rough edges that come with a day like this. Willis finished 15-of-27 for 220 yards, with one interception, five sacks and 39 rushing yards. He also scored on a scramble in the third quarter and flashed his arm with downfield completions to Malik Washington, Chris Bell and Caleb Douglas.
But the pressure was relentless, and the Raiders forced him into mistakes. Treydan Stukes came away with his first career interception after Willis failed to see him over the middle. Still, Willis kept competing, and some of the aggression came with Miami chasing the game most of the way.
De’Von Achane was the only consistent help on the ground for the Dolphins, finishing with 11 carries for 36 yards. Beyond that, the supporting cast was thin, and Miami’s rebuild was impossible to ignore. The Dolphins are working to clear dead money off their books, and that has pushed them into leaning on a lot of replacement-level players.
Willis has talent, and there was enough on Sunday to suggest he can be part of something if the Dolphins give him more around him. For now, though, the Raiders left Week 1 with the cleaner answer: Kubiak’s offense looked organized, Jeanty looked dangerous, and Las Vegas looked a lot more complete than it did a year ago.
In Other News...
Dolphins Suddenly Have A Week 1 Pass Rush Twist Fans Need To See
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It is a reminder of how much turnover and uncertainty still sits around this roster, even before the first snap matters. Miamis 2026 cap picture is already lopsided, with more money tied up in players not currently on the roster than those who are, so every live rep from a player like Ferrell carries a little extra weight as the Dolphins try to sort out which pieces can actually help them now. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Week 1 Decision Raises Eyebrows At One Position
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The list is notable because Tolbert arrived with the kind of veteran profile that usually suggests at least an early role, and instead he was left on the sideline for Week 1. Miamis choices also came against a Raiders inactive list that included tight end Brock Bowers after a knee procedure, along with Aidan O'Connell as the emergency third quarterback, underscoring how quickly early-season availability can shape a game-day plan. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Face Tanking Talk Again As Their Rebuild Gets Tested
Talk of tanking has started to hover around the Dolphins again, this time with the franchise trying to work through a difficult roster and cap picture while also putting real pieces in place for the future. Miami still carries significant dead money from Tua Tagovailoas contract, and the front office has been busy making moves that point more toward stabilization than teardown, including signing quarterback Malik Willis and keeping DeVon Achane in the fold.
For a team that has already lived through accusations of intentional losing back in 2019, the optics matter almost as much as the record. The Dolphins are trying to sell a different story now, one built on rebuilding and a new culture rather than short-term sacrifice, but any season that starts with cap stress and quarterback uncertainty is going to invite the same old questions until the on-field results quiet them. [Read more 🡒]