NEW ORLEANS —How the Las Vegas Raiders performed in a 35-27 win over the Saints at Caesars Superdome on Sunday:
Offense: A-
It turns out Brock Bowers is pretty good.
The star tight end caught 10 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown in his return from a procedure on his left knee less than three weeks ago.
Kirk Cousins threw three touchdown passes for a third straight game, and the Raiders found a way to finish drives in the second half.
Running back Ashton Jeanty was once again bottled up for the most part, but Mike Washington Jr. created an explosive play on a 36-yard touchdown out of the backfield.
Defense: A
It wasn’t perfect for a defense that gave up a lot of yards on Sunday.
The group came up huge in big moments, however.
Malcolm Koonce got his hand on the ball just as New Orleans quarterback Tyler Shough was starting his thowing motion, and Maxx Crosby recovered the fumble to set up the go-ahead touchdown.
Then Shough was hit as he threw on the next possession, causing his pass to sail wide of his target and into the waiting hands of Hezekiah Masses, who ran the interception back inside the 10-yard line. The Raiders extended their lead on a Bowers touchdown three plays later.
The defense saved its best for last, coming up with a fourth-down stop of the Saints just short of the red zone late in a one-score game and then forcing a fumble on the final desperation drive.
Special teams: D
It’s not that the Raiders were bad on special teams in general on Sunday.
But they made the kind of egregious blunders that put the defense in difficult spots and nearly cost them.
After the Saints scored to take the lead in the third quarter, Dylan Laube fumbled the kickoff return and New Orleans came out of a pile with the football.
The Saints scored another touchdown two plays later and took control of the game. The Raiders answered with a touchdown, but Matt Gay kicked the ball out of bounds to give the Saints great field position.
Those things can’t happen.
Otherwise, a Raiders special teams unit that came into the game tops in the NFL in EPA played pretty well once again. Thomas Booker even blocked an extra point.
That’s what saved the group from a failing grade.
Coaching: A
Klint Kubiak remained undefeated as a head coach, this time helping his team find a way to rally from 11 points down in the second half.
He preaches never getting too high or too low, and Sunday was a perfect example as that is just what his team needed.
The Raiders immediately answered after New Orleans extended the lead and took over the game from there.
His offensive scheme continues to impress and was fully unlocked by the return of Bowers.
Kubiak also made the right decisions on 2-point attempts even though they didn’t work out.
He also won his first challenge as a coach.
This start has been unbelievable and he gets a ton of credit.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
