Raiders start 3-0 for the first time after a No. 1 QB pick
Las Vegas, 3-14 last season, have won all three games behind Kirk Cousins's nine touchdown passes; the Chiefs visit on 4 October.
The Las Vegas Raiders are 3-0 to start the 2026 season, per ESPN, the first team in the common draft era (since 1967) to open 3-0 the season after drafting a quarterback No. 1 overall; the Raiders took Fernando Mendoza with the first pick in April, per ESPN. They finished 3-14 in 2025, per NFL.com. Under first-year head coach Klint Kubiak, per ESPN, the Raiders have been led by Kirk Cousins, who has thrown nine touchdown passes through three weeks.
Cousins' streak
Cousins' nine touchdown passes tie him for the NFL lead, per ESPN. Per NFL.com, he has thrown at least three in each game, tied for the longest such streak of his career and the longest active streak in the league. Through three games he has completed 62 of 92 passes (67.4 per cent) for 661 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions, per ESPN.
In Week 1 on 13 September he completed 21 of 30 passes for 160 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in a 27-13 win over Miami, per ESPN. One of those touchdowns was the 301st of his career, moving him to 14th all-time, ESPN reported. On 20 September he threw for 253 yards and three touchdowns in a 26-14 win over the Chargers, and on 27 September he had 248 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-27 win over New Orleans, per ESPN.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Cousins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 September | Miami Dolphins | W 27-13 | 21/30, 160 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT |
| 2 | 20 September | Los Angeles Chargers | W 26-14 | 253 yds, 3 TD |
| 3 | 27 September | New Orleans Saints | W 35-27 | 248 yds, 3 TD |
| Total | 88-54 | 62/92, 661 yds, 9 TD, 3 INT |
Winning as underdogs
The Raiders were favoured in only one of the three games and won all three, per ESPN. Across them they have outscored opponents 88-54, an average winning margin of more than 11 points.
Kubiak has kept his tone measured. “We have a lot to get better at, but I'm very excited for our team,” he said after the Week 1 win, per ESPN. After Week 3 he looked ahead: “It's a 17-game season, so we can't be happy or satisfied with this win. Put ourselves in a good position. We know what's coming to our place next week: the Chiefs. So we just take it one game at a time. That's how you win games,” he said, per NFL.com.
Bowers back
Tight end Brock Bowers made his season debut in Week 3 after a knee injury, per ESPN, and caught 10 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown against the Saints. That game was also the Raiders' highest-scoring of the season, at 35 points.
The fourth-quarter swing in New Orleans
The Week 3 win at the Caesars Superdome came from behind. The Saints led 27-22 after three quarters; the Raiders scored the last 13 points to win 35-27, in front of 70,006 spectators.
Cousins finished that game 22 of 33 for 248 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, a 119.3 passer rating, despite being sacked three times. The Raiders converted 7 of 12 third downs. On the ground, Ashton Jeanty carried 19 times for 56 yards, while Mike Washington Jr. ran five times for 54 yards and a touchdown.
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raiders | 3 | 13 | 6 | 13 | 35 |
| Saints | 6 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 27 |
Next: the Chiefs
The Raiders host the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium on 4 October, per ESPN. Kubiak had already named that game after the Week 3 win, per NFL.com. Kansas City were also 3-0 in the AFC West after three weeks, so one of the division's two unbeaten teams will lose its perfect record.