From forced turnovers to relentless pass rushing, the Silver and Black’s dominant unit has propelled a surprising 3-0 start, matching last season's win total before October begins.
Raise your hand if you had the Las Vegas Raiders tied with the Kansas City Chiefs at 3-0 entering Week 4?
Now, raise your hand if you predicted Kirk Cousins to be the starting quarterback with the calendar set to turn to October?
Let's assume you guessed those first two. Now, raise your hand if you had the Las Vegas defense at No. 1 in several NFL categories.
Yet, here we are. That, believe it or not, is a reality.
The Raiders defeated the New Orleans Saints, 35-27, on the road in Week 3. Cousins threw three touchdowns, but the defense forced four turnovers, including a pair of fumbles from Saints quarterback Tyler Shough.
The Raiders defense now leads the NFL in the following categories after three weeks:
- takeaways (9)
- forced fumbles (10)
Las Vegas is also fourth in sacks, and in the top-10 in a couple of other defensive categories.
After two weeks, the Raiders' pass rush was already being labeled as one early surprise, and they added another two sacks on Sunday.
Maxx Crosby, who was traded to the Baltimore Ravens before coming back after the Ravens backed out of the trade, had 1.5 sacks in Week 1, but hasn't had a sack since.
However, Crosby did have a fumble recovery in Week 3.
Rob Leonard took over as the Raiders' defensive coordinator, and early on, this looks like a home run hire, as does every decision Las Vegas made this offseason.
A year ago, the Raiders won 3 games all season long with Pete Carroll as the head coach. Now, not even in October, and the Raiders have already matched last year's win total, and No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza is just standing on the sidelines.
The only caveat is that the Raiders' win have come against the Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Chargers and new Orleans Saints, and entering Week 4, those teams have a combined record of 1-8.
The next few weeks will show how legitimate this team in Las Vegas is. In Week 4, the Raiders face the undefeated Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium, followed by the new England Patriots on the road, then back-to-back home games against the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams.
In Las Vegas can go 2-2 in that stretch, that would be an enormous statement for Klint Kubiak's team, and only time will tell how good this team and defense really is.
