NFL Insider Jason La Canfora: The Las Vegas Raiders Are Thriving After ‘Major Upgrades’

The reality of the 2026 Las Vegas Raiders is that they will probably not be as good as they have looked the first two weeks of the season, and they will not be as bad as things might go during the next six weeks.

If they remain anything as close to the winning operation they have been thus far under rookie head coach Klint Kubiak, then you won’t be seeing first-overall pick Fernando Mendoza at quarterback in the first half of the season. 

No matter what the larger realities of this season become, the Raiders do appear to be changing their culture, as banal a saying as that has become in the NFL, and they are finding ways to win games they’d often lose.

How much of that is due to football’s ultimate winner, Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady, being such an active part of their ownership group is difficult to say, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.

This is very much a rebuilding team, and after wins over the tanking Dolphins and sputtering Chargers, the challenge will be much different with the Saints, Chiefs, Patriots, Bills and Rams to come. 

What’s clear is this offense is exponentially more functional and professional grade than a year ago. 

The Maxx Crosby Effect

Veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins is the perfect fit many expected. Edge defender Maxx Crosby (after the Ravens scuttled a trade to Baltimore) is playing like a man possessed (again as many execs told me would be the case) and the team’s most dynamic offensive player. 

Tight end Brock Bowers has yet to play a snap due to injury but is very much in play for Week 3.

The improvement is noticeable. There is a different vibe about this team, as pointed out to us this summer by NFL analyst and Raiders broadcaster and former MVP quarterback Rich Gannon, and the earliest returns on the Kubiak regime could not be better at 2-0.

“The way they beat the Chargers (in Week 2) wasn’t some fluke,” one longtime NFL executive who watched the film told me. “They outplayed them and they outcoached them.”

Heady stuff indeed for the Silver and Black.

Record Signing Tyler Linderbaum ‘Makes All The Difference’

Gannon anticipated an immediate move to more of an under-center (not shotgun and pistol) offense with a heavy emphasis on play action passes and heavy tight-end looks. 

Bowers’ absence has increased the degree of difficulty on all of the above, but Kubiak’s approach and some additions to what was an awful offensive line look legitimate. “The center (record free-agent signing Tyler Linderbaum) makes all the difference in the world,” one GM told me.

“Major upgrade,” Gannon said.

Guess who is leading the NFL in play action passing through the first two weeks? Cousins, completing 12 of 16 such passes for 150 yards and three touchdowns and a 143.2 rating. 

The Raiders are also in the top 10 in pressure rate allowed – hello Linderbaum – after being in the bottom five a year ago.

“That’s because there is a real emphasis being put on line-play, the run game, and play action,” Gannon told me.

Cousins’ prior experience in this system with Kubiak allowed the offensive installation to move at a rapid pace and for Kubiak to feel comfortable culling from the furthest reaches of his playbook. 

Once Bowers returns – one of the true size/speed freaks in this league in the best sense of the word – the match-up opportunities swing in Kubiak’s favor and it also forces defenses to devote significant manpower to tight-end coverage, making life easier for other pass catchers.

Young running back Ashton Jeanty’s health has been an ongoing concern, but with Kubiak’s scheme and an offensive line constructed to play to its strengths, there is no doubt they will be far more efficient on the ground than they were a year ago no matter who is running the ball. 

Cousins must cut down on the turnovers, and Las Vegas must improve a 33% conversion rate on third down. 

They aren’t going to keep sneaking up on teams after this fast start, but this is also clearly a franchise making strides, and giving people reasons to think about what’s possible, rather than finding ways to write them off by October as so often has been the case.

The defense has shown a major boost in its ability to bring pressure and create momentum-swinging plays (Crosby at the forefront), and Cousins just might be leading their huddle well into October and beyond, barring injury.

Cousins Enjoys a New Lease of Life Under Kubiak

“He loves playing for Klint,” Cousins’ agent, Mike McCartney, told me. 

“I think he really does enjoy (working with) Mendoza, too, and kind of putting his arm around him. 

“Kirk’s in his element being a leader and he still plays with a lot of passion. It’s the third preseason game and I’m watching the pregame and he’s hyping everyone else up and I’m like, ‘I just can’t wait for this game to be over with.’

“Here he is getting everybody going, you know. He has the credibility in that building, in that locker room, in that quarterback room, to really impact the young guys and show them the way, and he’s really good at that. 

“I do think he’s in his element and I think he’s going to play with a lot of energy this year.”

We’ll see how far that can take the Raiders as they enter the heart of the schedule.