Raiders D, Jeanty dominate in season opening win over Miami

The Las Vegas Raiders 2026 season could be named after the first Star Wars movie: A New Hope.

If the season opener was any indication, the Silver and Black took a good first step in lifting the black cloud that has been hovering over the team for the past five years in its decisive 27-13 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday afternoon at Allegiant Stadium.

A ton of new faces from their head coach Klint Kubiak to quarterback Kirk Cousins to a revamped defense were brought in by general manager John Spytek to help bring the Raiders out of the duldrums and improve on the worst record in the league last season at 3-14.

Las Vegas' defense, still led by All-Pro defensive end Maxx Crosby, that featured free agents signings Nakobe Dean, Kwity Paye and Quay Walker collectively worked together to contain Miami's star running back De'Von Achane and not allow him to get to the outside to utilize his blazing speed. Nor did they allow him to break tackles to extend his runs. Overall, the Radiers held Achane to just 36 yards on the ground and 66 total scrimage yards.

"When you play complementary football, good things tend to happen," Crosby said after the game.

Miami came into the season with no Tua Tagovailoa, Jaylen Waddle or Tyreek Hill. Those players, who were their other offensive weapons, left via free agency or were released by the team. Malik Willis came in from being the backup at Green Bay to the starting quaterback for first year head coach Jeff Hafley. The Raiders front four and Dean, playing a spy role, kept consistent pressure on Willis throughout the game as they sacked him a total of five times. Paye had two, Crosby with one and half and Dean with one.

The Raiders secondary also did well on coverage allowing the pass rush to get to Willis and disrupt him with hurried, inacurate throws for incompletions. Treydan Stukes, the 38th overall pick of this year's draft, recorded his first career interception on a desperation throw by Willis deep the down middle. Stukes played center field as he leaped up high to haul in the ball early in the third quarter. The interception came with the Raiders up 24-13 and it seemed to deflate Miami as Las Vegas rode the momentum the rest of the second half.

As for the offense, there were many questions coming into the season with Cousins winning the starting quarterback role in favor of number one overall pick Fernando Mendoza. Also, second year running back Aston Jeanty was questionable due to an ankle injury he suffered during training camp. The main concern was how well would the offensive line perform after a disastrous 2025 season. And to top it all off, Pro Bowl tight end Brock Bowers missed the game as he suffered a knee injury during the practice and required a miniscus procedure performed that according to Kubiak will hope to only "miss a game or two".

Jeanty showed no sign of any injury as he looked explosive out of the backfield. He led all rushers with 102 yards on 23 carries with the O-line winning the battle in the trenches. When Jeanty wasn't punishing the defense running the ball, he made Miami's linebackers and secondary look bad with six catches for 45 yards and two touchdown receptions.

Cousins first connection to Jeanty came on the Raiders third offensive drive. Jeanty beat a Miami safety with a quick double move to the inside where Cousins place the ball perfectly in Jeanty's hands as the former first round pick from Boise St. raced into the endzone untouched for a 13-yard touchdown that completed a seven play 54-yard drive.

Cousins did well leading Las Vegas with methodical drives throughout the game. He did have two interceptions, with one being a rushed desparate throw down the middle, but he provided the Raiders the game manager they need him to be. No one expects Cousins to be perfect and as an aging veteran, he will have a couple of mistakes here and there. But he never looked rattled and was poised under pressure, an experienced veteran quarterback has to provide in order to be successful. Cousins finished 21-of-30 for 160 yards to go along with three touchdowns.

"I hate practicing against our offense," Paye said with a laugh, "but I love seeing them play."

Tight end Michael Mayer, filling in for Bowers, also had six receptions and 32 yards in receiving. Second year wide out Jack Bech had three catches for 23 yards and was the other receiptient of a Cousins touchdown pass on the Raiders first drive of the game. Rookie running back Mike Washington Jr. spelled Jeanty throughout the game and had 41 yards on seven carried including a 18-yarder that was the longest run of the game.

Las Vegas won its season opener last year against the New England Patriots but the season quickly went down here from there under previous head coach Pete Carrol who was overwhelmed and did not do a good job preparing his team to play on Sundays. While no one is punching a ticket to Sofi Stadium on Valentine's Day 2027 after one game, this year feels different with Kubiak at the helm, Cousins leading the offense and the revamped defense looking to climb up for being on one of the bottom third of the league.

"We watched a really cool video about the history of the Black Hole and the Silver and Black, and made a big point of earning our way to making this our house," Kubiak said. "But it's just the support we had, how loud it was on the first drive throughout the game, it was special. It's what this building can be, and obviously it's up to us to earn the respect of those fans."

The Raiders next challenge comes on Sunday September 20th as they travel to Southern California to take on the Los Angeles Chargers in an early divisional matchup. The Bolts looked terrible against a young and upcoming Arizona Cardianls in their 26-14 loss. Las Vegas will look to take the momentum of this win into Inglewood for a chance at a 2-0 start for the first time since 2021.