The Las Vegas Raiders headed into Week 2’s matchup against the division rival Los Angeles Chargers as heavy underdogs despite playing well on both sides of the football in the season-opening win against the Miami Dolphins.
On Sunday, new head coach Klint Kubiak and company put on a show in front of many of the Raiders’ faithful who filled the stands at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, beating the Chargers 26-14.
Raiders HC Klint Kubiak Praises ‘Winner’ Nakobe Dean
After an impressive win against the Chargers in which the team dominated on both sides of the football, Kubiak was asked about the performance of veteran newcomer Nakobe Dean, who had one of the biggest plays of the day, forcing a fumble on running back Omarion Hampton that Jeremy Chinn recovered.
“Winning pedigree,” Kubiak said of Dean in the Raiders’ postgame presser. “He’s a winner. He’s won in college. He’s won in Philly. Him and Quay Walker, they bring winning to the organization. He’s a guy that came out for a minute and came back in, gutted it out for the team. That’s who he is.”
During the NFL offseason, the Raiders made solid additions to the squad, with the signings of former Philadelphia Eagles players Dean and Quay Walker among the most significant moves to upgrade the defense.
So far, these moves to bring Walker and Dean have already started to pay off, and clearly, Kubiak likes what he sees from these two defensive stars.
Dean and Walker led the way with 10 total tackles apiece, as they were all over the field, causing havoc for Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who was under siege all day long.
Although it is early in the season and anything can happen moving forward, Las Vegas is off to a solid start, with things clicking on both sides of the football.
Klint Kubiak: Brock Bowers is ‘Very Close’ to Returning
Before the matchup against the Chargers got underway, star tight end Brock Bowers put some work in on the field to see if he’d be able to play even though he was listed as doubtful heading into Sunday.
Ultimately, Bowers was ruled out by the team, but Kubiak liked what he saw from his star tight end, as he believes the one-time All-Pro is “very close” to returning.
“Close. Very close,” Kubiak said of Bowers. “He looked great.”
The Raiders are already exceeding expectations with two straight impressive performances to start the 2026 NFL season, but perhaps what is most impressive is that they’ve done it without arguably their best player on the field catching passes from veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Cousins, who made his Raiders debut throwing three touchdowns against the Dolphins, had another solid outing, throwing for three more touchdowns against the Chargers.
“Kirk Cousins has become the ninth quarterback to throw for at least three touchdowns in each of his first two starts with a team since starts were first tracked in 1950, via Raiders PR. He’s the second to do so in the last decade after Carson Wentz for Washington in 2022.
The 38-year-old gunslinger is now tied for the league lead in touchdown passes with Bryce Young of the Carolina Panthers and has the Raiders sitting atop the AFC West division standings at 2-0.
The Kansas City Chiefs will be right there with them if they beat the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night, but the Denver Broncos are 1-1, while the Chargers are winless at 0-2.
Klint Kubiak Makes Telling Statement About Raiders’ Nakobe Dean