The Las Vegas Raiders are 3-0. That sentence alone would have sounded absurd heading into the 2026 season.

A team that went 3-14 last year, picked first overall in the draft, and was widely expected to be one of the worst teams in the NFL has somehow flipped the script in the most dramatic fashion possible. Kirk Cousins looks revitalized, Brock Bowers is back to being the most dangerous tight end in football, and the Raiders’ defense has been one of the most underdiscussed units through three weeks.

Their latest win came against a New Orleans Saints team that entered the game red hot, leading the league in passing yards with Tyler Shough and Chris Olave forming one of the more productive quarterback-receiver duos in the NFL. The Raiders knocked them off in a tight one, and it wasn’t just one side of the ball carrying the load.

Kirk Cousins is proving he’s still got it

Cousins has been one of the bigger surprises of the early season, looking like a quarterback who still has plenty left in the tank.

His chemistry with Brock Bowers has been the centerpiece of the passing game, and the results speak for themselves. Bowers hauled in 10 catches for 116 yards and a touchdown on 13 targets against the Saints, looking less like a traditional tight end and more like the best receiver on the roster.

That’s the version of Bowers that had everyone excited during his first six weeks in the NFL, not the inconsistent version we saw at times last season. He was lining up all over the formation, detached from the line, in the slot, on the boundary. He is a tight end in name only at this point. He is the best pass-catching weapon on this team, and head coach Klink Kubiak is scheming him like one.

The Brock Bowers conversation was a fascinating one heading into the year.

There were two conflicting schools of thought. One camp worried that Kubiak’s tendencies in Seattle leaned toward heavy personnel and spreading the ball around, which could limit Bowers’ volume. The other camp pointed to what Kubiak did with Jaxon Smith-Njigba in Seattle and argued that good coaches build their offense around their best players.

After watching Bowers’ deployment through the early portion of this season, it is clear he is the JSN of this offense. Kubiak is building around him.

Bowers blocked at Georgia. He was never afraid to play in line. But his skill set as a pass-game weapon is so rare that labeling him as a slot receiver, a detached tight end, or an attached tight end misses the point.

A smart offensive mind like Kubiak is going to maximize him in every way possible. The only real concern with Bowers has always been health. He plays an aggressive style, similar to a more physical version of Puka Nakua at tight end, and that style leads to taking hits.

Can he maintain his health over a full season? That remains the biggest question mark.

The defense deserves more credit

The Raiders’ 3-0 start is not just a Cousins and Bowers story.

The defense has been tremendous through three games, and it is not getting nearly enough attention. Maxx Crosby looks like an absolute game wrecker again, and the linebacking corps featuring additions like Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker has completely transformed the unit. The cornerbacks have been playing at a level nobody expected heading into the season.

This is what happens when you go out and spend aggressively in the offseason, keep your best defensive player in Crosby, and build a roster that actually looks like it can compete. The Raiders went from 3-14 to a team with a defense capable of keeping them in games regardless of what happens on offense.

What does this mean for Fernando Mendoza?

The Raiders spent the first overall pick on Fernando Mendoza, and through three weeks, he has had zero impact on the season because he is riding the bench. That is wildly impressive from a team-building standpoint. The pressure to play Mendoza was expected to mount early, with many predicting the Raiders’ hand would be forced by the bye week at the latest.

At this current pace, that conversation is not on anyone’s mind. There is a real argument that even if Cousins starts to slide a little, the defense and the running game with Ashton Jeanty and Mike Washington Jr. give this team enough of a floor to keep winning. The possibility of not seeing Mendoza this season seems to be getting much more real.

Could there eventually be a point where the Raiders are sitting at 6-5 and the early-season magic feels like a mirage? Sure.

There is a reasonable case that they will regress toward the middle as the season progresses. But even then, this defense, this run game, and the overall roster construction suggest the Raiders can stay competitive without rushing their franchise quarterback onto the field.

Tom Brady’s plan to let Mendoza develop behind the scenes looks cushier than anyone could have imagined three weeks ago.