The Las Vegas Raiders are now 3-0 as they outscored the New Orleans Saints to get an impressive road win.
The Las Vegas Raiders got their third win of the season on the road against the New Orleans Saints, as they took advantage of some sloppy turnovers from the Saints in the second half to get a 34-27 win.
This was an entertaining back-and-forth battle between a pair of sneaky up-and-coming teams that featured constant scoring and plenty of offense.
The first quarter was on the quiet side, though, as Las Vegas struck first with a 41-yard field goal from kicker Matt Gay to make it 3-0. The Saints countered with a short touchdown pass from QB Tyler Shough to tight end Juwan Johnson, with a missed PAT making it 6-3.
Things picked up a lot in the second quarter. The Raiders scored ten straight points on a field goal and a three-yard TD pass from quarterback Kirk Cousins to tight end Michael Mayer. Shough then threw a short TD pass to his other tight end, Noah Fant, but a late field goal from Gay made it 16-13 at the half.
New Orleans dominated most of the third quarter with a pair of touchdowns, as Shough once again found both of his tight ends, with Johnson getting the first TD and Fant the second. The Raiders came back with a 36-yard touchdown run from rookie running back Michael Washington Jr., but a missed two point conversion made it 27-22 after three.
The Saints turned the ball over four times in the fourth quarter to give the game away, with the Raiders scoring their first touchdown pass of the quarter on a short touchdown pass from Cousins to receiver Cody White, who’s been a touchdown maker for Vegas.
Another failed two-pointer made it 28-27, but the Raiders capitalized on an interception by rookie cornerback Hezekiah Masses that gave Las Vegas the ball inside the Saints 10-yard line, and Cousins hit tight end Brock Bowers with a 4-yard TD pass to give the Raiders a 35-27 lead that they were able to hang onto to get the win.
Tight ends ran wild in this one, scoring six touchdowns, with Bowers getting 10 catches for 116 yards to lead the way statistically. Cousins was nails throughout, and he wound up going 22-for-33 for 248 yards and three touchdown passes. The win proved the Raiders are for real, at least for the first month of the season, and they’ll meet the 3-0 Kansas City Chiefs next Sunday in what should be another fun matchup.
