The Las Vegas Raiders and New Orleans Saints will engage in what should be an epic offensive battle, which is kind of wild to say after the last few seasons.
It’s safe to say the organizational changes that the Las Vegas Raiders made between the end of the 2025 season and the end of the offseason have paid off in a major way.
Yes, the Raiders had the softest landing of any team going up against the Miami Dolphins in Week 1, but they still had to take care of business, and they did just that with a compelling 27-13 victory. Las Vegas also had a dominant win over what should be a good Los Angeles Chargers team, knocking them off 26-14 – both coming without star tight end Brock Bowers, who may return against the Saints.
Addressing what was one of the worst defenses in the National Football League last year has paid massive dividends. The Raiders had a ton of free salary cap space to use in free agency, and they used a lot of it to bring in guys like Quay Walker, Nakobe Dean and Kwity Paye, who have been highly influential on the field.
Top free agent center Tyler Linderbaum was brought on as well and was one of the first players to sign when the legal tampering period opened, and he has shown why Las Vegas made a huge investment in him. The Raiders offense has hit another stride with the big man blocking and assessing the defense in front of him.
Veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins has time in the pocket and running back Ashton Jeanty has more space to work. Jeanty was outstanding against Miami, rushing for 102 yards and catching six passes for 45 yards and two touchdowns but he wasn’t super efficient in that game or the one against Los Angeles.
Still, he’s in a much better position as a player than he was during his rookie season and will be one of the focal points of this new-and-improved offense led by new head coach and offensive mastermind Klint Kubiak.
New Orleans has been much better this season as well, and QB Tyler Shough has been slinging the ball to his receivers at an effective clip. The Saints do most of their damage through the air, but that may not work out against Las Vegas, which has been stingy against the pass.
The Saints are stingy against the pass as well, so expect another heavy workload for Jeanty; the second-year man has 44 carries through two games.
It’s hard to pick a winner for this game, but I have an inkling that the Raiders will win a thriller on the road to start 3-0 for the first time since 2021.
