Klint Kubiak Reacts After Earning Game Ball in 1st Raiders Win

The first game of Klint Kubiak's time as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders got off to a strong start. 

The Raiders defeated the Miami Dolphins, 27-13, in Las Vegas as veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for three touchdowns. 

Kubiak, 39, spent time at Texas A&M and then went to the NFL with stints with each of the Minnesota Vikings (twice), Denver Broncos (twice), San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks with one season in there with the Kansas Jayhawks. 

Kubiak won a Super Bowl as the Seahawks offensive coordinator in February, and the Raiders hired him to give him his first head coaching job of his career. 

Following the win, Kubiak received the game ball, and he spoke about how it felt to start the season off with a victory. 

"They gave me a game ball," Kubiak said, via the team website. "Meant a lot to me. ... Really appreciative of the guys. It's great to share this moment with them, but we know we've got 16 more. One at a time."

Here was the scene where GM John Spytek gave the ball, and the Raiders team surrounded Kubiak in excitement. 

Spytek also said Kubiak was the "captain of the ship" following the Week 1 win. 

The Raiders led the entire game, and they saw Ashton Jeanty run for 102 yards on 23 carries with Kirk Cousins throwing for 160 yards with 3 touchdowns, although the veteran also had a pair of interceptions. 

Jeanty ended up catching two touchdowns, and he finished the game with six receptions for a team-high 45 yards as tight end Brock Bowers missed the game due to dealing with an injury. 

While Kubiak and the Raiders have a lot to be excited about, the first-year head coach knows there are a lot of areas to improve going forward. 

"We're better than the final score," he said in his speech to the team. "We've got to close that game out and we know that. Winning in the NFL is really hard. Doing it with teammates and people you love is very rewarding, so we're going to enjoy this moment."

The Raiders have had a bit of a revolving door at head coach over the last few years, and after the ugly Pete Carroll-Geno Smith era, there was a lot of pressure for Kubiak to give the fans a positive sight, and it paid off. 

The Raiders are now 1-0, and they will face the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2 at SoFi Stadium in LA.