Week 1 for the Las Vegas Raiders went about as well as it could’ve. The offense played efficiently, the defense made big plays and the special teams were on point.
It was a great start to the Klint Kubiak era. He’s not known for having a big personality. Players have often described him as being “all ball.” However, winning your first game as a head coach has a way of making people break character.
After the game, a fired-up Kubiak skipped off the field with a big smile on his face and even jumped toward the stands to high-five a fan.
One of the worries about Kubiak is that he was maybe a little too stoic. His personality is far closer to former Raiders head coach Dennis Allen than it is to Pete Carroll or Antonio Pierce.
This shows that he can have some fun with football. He may have even been more excited than he was about winning the Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks last season. Kubiak still has a lot to prove as a head coach, but this is a very promising start. There were no glaring issues with his game management, and his offensive playcalling was on point. He certainly deserved to celebrate once the game finished.
Kubiak Thinks There Are Still Things Raiders Need to Clean Up
The final score for the Week 1 matchup against the Miami Dolphins was 27-13, but it could’ve been an even bigger blowout. Kirk Cousins threw a couple of interceptions, and the team had some ugly penalties.
Kubiak is very happy with the win, but he knows there’s room for improvement.
“We’re not where we want to be,” Kubiak told reporters after the game. “There’s things that we got to get better at. We have 12 guys on the field. You know, I’m burning timeouts left and right in the second half because we’re having trouble getting lined up.”
What to Make of Raiders’ Win
This was a very promising win for the Raiders. They look like a very different team than last season already.
Now, the Raiders did beat the New England Patriots in Week 1 last season, only to fall apart soon after, but this is a very different team now. The fact that the run game was so efficient has to feel great.
Running back Ashton Jeanty showed why the team used a first-round pick on him last year, and Mike Washington Jr. made a couple of plays. New star center Tyler Linderbaum was excellent in his Raiders debut, and the offensive line as a whole played really well.
The defense was also very solid as a whole. It was against Malik Willis, who likely doesn’t start at quarterback for most teams, but these are the types of games the Raiders would figure out how to lose in recent years. Kubiak has a long leash, so there’s not a lot of pressure to make a playoff run this year, but nobody is going to complain if the Raiders are a year ahead of schedule.
Klint Kubiak Breaks Character & Goes Wild in Viral Clip After Raiders Win