Hondo's Raiders Musings: Inside Vegas' Prep for Potential Upset

HENDERSON, Nev.-The Las Vegas Raiders (3-2) host the Buffalo Bills (4-1) on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium, and while the Bills are looking to keep their season rolling, the Raiders are looking to get back on track.

Each Thursday, I offer you my musings from around the team and take you inside where you can’t go. Let’s dig in.

Thursday Musings

In my previous seven years covering the Raiders, there have been only two reactions when the team takes its first bad loss of the year. Make no mistake, every team has them, but up to this point there have only been two separate reactions.

Panic, and the other is essentially ‘We stink again.’

But since the collapse of the 2025 season, things have been and are different.

This week it is resolve, embarrassment, and a sense of individual failure. For the first time since this team arrived in the desert, the Raiders have suffered their first bad loss (documented thoroughly in my report card), and the only finger-pointing is a big thumb back at themselves.

This team knows they aren’t a Super Bowl team; they also know what they represented on the field last week in New England is far from who they are.

They are on a mission to prove that Sunday.

Passing the Ball Versus Cover Zero

On Tuesday, I watched every snap of the 2025 Seahawks and noticed that even then the NFL stacked the box against Klint Kubiak’s penchant for running the ball; when defenses showed cover zero, Kubiak used a lot of slants and rub routes to defuse it.

We didn’t see that from the Silver and Black on Sunday, so I asked Kubiak whether the Raiders need to add it quickly once teams see the Patriots’ success this past weekend on film.

“Absolutely yeah, just trying to attack what the defense gives you. And when you’re getting man coverage, that’s always an option, yes.”

Changes on the OL

Kubiak mentioned, when I asked him about getting backups, Caleb Rogers and Bryce Cabledue, some reps after the poor play of his guards on Sunday. He elaborated more on that today and went beyond the offensive line.

“Just promoting competition. And whether it’s a corner this week or guys on the offensive line this week, there’s always competition, and I think that gets the players to play their best. But just telling someone that he’s going to go this week, I don’t think that’s fair to the Raiders or to the players. So, really want to promote competition, especially offensive line and at corner this week.”

Youth at CB

Darien Porter played very well on Sunday, and Hezekiah Masses struggled, but don’t forget Jermod McCoy is on this roster, and Kubiak spoke on the youth at that CB spot, and what he is expecting this week, specifically from McCoy.

“He certainly can. We’re counting on him. We drafted him for a reason. More specifically, I see DP [Darien Porter] and Zeke [Masses] fighting for who’s going to start the game, and we know that everybody’s going to play.”

Ashton Jeanty’s Health

Kubiak was asked what he is looking for from the Boise State Bronco in terms of his health this week.

“I think Ashton [Jeanty] is really starting to feel a lot better physically. So, excited about giving him even more reps in practice, more full speed reps. And with Mike [Washington] and with Dylan [Laube], all those guys have to factor in for us.” Kubiak made it clear that the young man is part of the game plan this week. “He’s playing.”

The Greatness of Josh Allen

The Rams’ game plan against the Bills last week shocked me. Rams DC Chris Shula is an elite DC, and it is a matter of when, not if, he becomes an NFL head coach. But the reality is that everyone is paid big money in this league, and Josh Allen, a top-three QB in the NFL, torched the Rams last week.

Kubiak spoke of facing the young superstar.

“Yeah, very difficult. He’s an elite athlete, elite thrower, great instincts to know when to run, and definitely between [James] Cook [III] and their quarterback those are two guys that can really hurt you with their legs.”

So What Is the Key to a Raiders Win?

Kubiak didn’t reveal any secrets because it isn’t a secret. The Bills are a legitimate Super Bowl-caliber team, and how you beat them is obvious, but doing it is the hard part.

“Yeah, well, you’ve got to get first downs to stay on the field. So, going three and out and punting the ball back is not the way to go. So, you’ve got to sustain drives. A big part of sustaining drives is not being one-dimensional. So, that’s a part of our team that we got to improve.”

A Muse?

Kubiak was asked if all the turnovers the Raiders’ defense produced perhaps hid some of their shortcomings. He took some of that assessment unbridled.

“I think that you do what you got to do to win the game, man. Your weaknesses come out, and what the numbers say that they are, and we’re just trying to go win the game. So, we’re trying to improve all of our weaknesses. That’s offensive, defense, special teams, and the other side of the ball, they’re going to come after what you’re good at.”

“They’re going harp on, ‘Hey, this team, they’ve taken the ball away,’ so they’re going protect it better. So, we’ve got to continue to take the ball away and just continue to improve as a team.”

Run Blocking Repairs

Kubiak knows his offense has to run the football to work. He also knows that with teams stacking the box, he can’t afford an atrocious offensive line performance like last week. He explained how to fix it.

“Yeah, many areas, and it’s coaching, it’s playing, and at the end of the day, you kind of go back to the basics and make sure you’re focused on the fundamentals and not trying to get too cute with your schemes. And just giving guys a good plan, they can go execute fast.”

CBA Dilemma

The NFL and the NFLPA have a CBA. That CBA limits practice time, so how does Kubiak achieve the in-season competition he craves while balancing the CBA rules that dictate practice? Here is a hint: carefully.

“Yeah, well, job’s on the line, that fosters it. There are only so many reps, but that’s the NFL, and that’s why you have training camp. That’s why you have the off season, and we got plenty of reps under our belt. So, yeah, there’s not a ton during the week, but there’s enough to get ready to play a football game.”

Brock Bowers Impact

Brock Bowers is a top-15 player in this league at any position. He is a unicorn. But the Raiders can’t just sit back and expect him to do all the work; other receivers must stand up and make an impact, per Kubiak.

“Yeah, we need everybody to move the ball. We need everybody. So, Brock [Bowers] is doing a good job, his teammates are doing a good job, and they deserve more opportunities. So, that’s on myself and the coaching staff of getting them in position.”

Film Addict

I have had Klint described as a “Film Junkie,” a “Film Nerd,” and a man in a personal love affair with “Watching plays a million times.” So I asked the first-year coach, who prefers to show his players what they did, good or bad, on film over talking, if the poor film from last week helps even more.

“Yeah, that’s the best tool. You know, the guys are visual. You can only tell them so much. If you show them, it definitely helps get your point across. That’s definitely something that I like to do, a lot of coaches on our staff like to do. But you got to make the correction somehow, someway. So, whatever hits the player’s brain the fastest you got to use that technique.”

Dont’e Thornton Jr.

The Raiders sophomore WR Dont’e Thornton Jr. needs to show up and out soon, or he could spend the rest of the season back on the IR. Kubiak bluntly assessed his long road back.

“Yeah, he’s got to prove to us he’s ready to go play in the NFL game. That his conditioning is there. He didn’t have a lot of training camp, guys. He’s coming back from a lot of time off, but he’s worked really hard and he’s put himself in position last week to prove to us this week and maybe next week that he’s ready to go.”

Are there any certain benchmarks? “Yeah, just with any player coming back from an injury that’s been out for a long time, number one’s conditioning, and number two is being assignment sound, and number three is making plays.”

Kubiak vs. Kubiak

One of the many reasons this team loves Klint Kubiak is that he isn’t afraid to go after himself when he feels like he failed. He mentioned abandoning the run in New England too soon and explained how the coaching staff reflects and plans ahead each week.

“Yeah, that’s part of the game within the game. You rely on your coaching staff and you’re talking on the headset together and going through strategy for each series. There’s an art to it, and it’s not perfect.”

Dylan Laube’s Growth

RB Dylan Laube is watching his role expand as he keeps working hard and proving himself. Kubiak loves the fight in the young man.

“Yes, not surprised. He’s a very consistent player for us on special teams, and that carries over into offensive football. And he’s earned his opportunities.”

NFL Struggles

There were multiple game-management struggles across the NFL this week. Kubiak said the Raiders use other teams’ struggles to learn from.

“Yes, between Rohit [Mogalayapalli], Joe [DeCamillis] and Mike McCoy, they do such a great job of putting together teach tapes for our guys each week, and we use the good and the bad every week from around the league to make sure that we’re on top of our stuff.”

Pre-Snap Read

Going back to high school, Kirk Cousins has been exceptional at the pre-snap read. He is obviously even better at it now, 22 years later, but I asked him how important that skill is in the modern NFL.

“Pre-snap is very important. I would say post-snap probably becomes more important. Then, there’s teams who want to hide their zeros. There’s teams that are going to show it, and then there’s teams that are going to show it and then bail out of it, and they’re not going to play zeros.”

“So, you kind of get a variety of looks, and you do the best you can pre-snap, and then you also know that regardless of what decisions you make pre-snap or what you’re going with, then you got to react post snap and make good decisions at that point.”

What Cousins Has Learned

After the Raiders’ loss on Sunday, there is no honest way to call it anything other than a butt-whipping. But that is not the end of the world when you approach it like 17 individual seasons. Cousins spoke about what he has learned about the locker room and how they have handled the loss.

“Yeah, it’s just back to work. It’s a great group. It’s the same guys when I stand up here and talk in training camp or after a win about how I love the group, it’s the same opinion after a tough loss, where you say, ‘Hey, it’s a great group of guys.’ They point the thumb, not pointing the finger, and just want to get better, want to learn, and get better together. And so that’s what it’s about, and I think it’s a good response. But we got to show it on Sunday.”

Patriots Pressure

So why does the Michigan State Spartans icon think about why the Patriots got pressure? Cousins broke it down.

“Well, most of the time, they were bringing more than we were going to block. So, knowing just sheer math-wise, they’re going to get pressure. It’s just avoiding the sack, and then what’s most important is getting a completion. So, where we weren’t able to connect, that was the miss. As far as they’re bringing seven, we have six to block, or they’re bringing six, we have five to block.”

“You know the ball’s got to go. The challenge or the miss was just not being able to throw completions, make connections, and that’s where you’re going back and saying, ‘I got to be better there.'”

Fullback Fun

The fullback position has largely been lost in the NFL, but not with the Raiders and the Kubiak system. Something that Cousins greatly appreciates.

“That’s a great question. I’ve always liked this system carrying a fullback. Going back to my rookie year in college, we used a fullback quite a bit. Fullbacks and tight ends, I think tend to be that Swiss Army knife player where if you have one who’s as versatile as you want him to be at the position, he should be able to run a seam route. He should be able to set the edge and block the edge. He should be able to handle protection.”

Cousins continued, “So, the ability to wear a lot of hats gives you a lot of flexibility. It’s kind of one of those theories in football where you say, ‘Are you better off just being in the same personnel all game?’ So, you’re not tipping anything to the defense and allowing your players to wear a bunch of hats. Or are you better off switching personnels all the time to kind of keep defenses guessing?”

He added, “You hear different philosophies. That’s one of those fun things you kind of talk about in the offseason. I remember my college coach made the point that one of his best years he ever had as a coach was they went 10-2 when he was at Kansas, and they just were in 21 the whole game, had a fullback on the field and never really changed it, and asked the fullback to wear a lot of hats. So, that’s something Connor Heyward can do here, and I think it makes a big difference.”

Run the Ball

Cousins was asked about staying committed to running the football, and as always, his answer was forthright. But it may actually surprise you.

“I think it’s an age-old debate of, ‘What is sticking to the run game? What is sticking to it too much? What is sticking to it not enough?’ I think that’s where you just have to kind of play the game for what the game calls for. Certainly helps when you have a lead when you’re playing well and you put yourself in a position to then be able to run the football more.”

“Been in a lot of games where you’re down and you have to abandon the run game not by your own choice, but just you’re forced to. I think the more at bats you get, the better. It certainly sets up the play action in other parts of your offense, the more you’re willing to commit to it and make the defense believe it.”

Paralysis by Analysis?

Kubiak loves to analyze everything. Something I admire, and while some may be critical of that, Cousins isn’t and doesn’t see an enormous threat of paralysis by analysis on this team.

“Certainly could be. I think that’s another balance you’re trying to find, to come back in and say, ‘It’s not that important. We’ll move on. It’s one game.’ To me, that sounds like a loser’s mentality. To still be talking about it four weeks later, might also be a loser’s mentality. So, there’s a middle ground there that you’ve got to find every week, and that’s what players and coaches have to find.”

“But if I had to err on one side, it would probably be being hard on ourselves, fixing things, feeling like they’ve been resolved, and I think that allows you then to play with confidence moving forward.”

Ashton Jeanty’s Work Ethic

While others are questioning Jeanty, don’t count Cousins among them. He is a big fan of his sophomore running back.

“He’s been tough. He’s done a great job and positive attitude and so I think that all it helps everybody at practice. When you see someone, one of your star players, practicing hard, having a positive attitude, I think it brings everybody else up too. So, he’s doing a great job, and he’ll keep doing it.”

More for Mike Washington Jr. (MWJ)?

Cousins was asked about getting MWJ some more reps in this offense, and the field general had a great thought process when discussing how they can make that happen.

“Yeah, Mike [Washington Jr.] has a lot of juice, and I think he’s shown that going back to practices. You guys have seen it, and so you always get back the end of a game, I even do it myself, and I’m not necessarily calling the plays or kind of scheming it up. But I think, did we get this guy enough touches? Is this guy getting the ball enough?”

“How many targets did – and I’m even thinking of myself of am I spreading the football around? Not that I decide that in the moment, but just trying to be aware of making sure that who’s not getting enough touches and can I help with that?”

Cousins concluded, “So, Mike’s one of those guys that I think good things happen when the football’s in his hand, and you want those kind of guys on your team, and you want them impacting the game. So, hopefully we can do that.”

NFL Game Management Woes

Like Kubiak, Cousins was asked about the game management issues in the NFL this weekend, and how the Raiders can learn from that?

“We call it the fourth phase. We got three phases in football. The fourth phase is situational game management, and you got to be a situational master. And we talk about it in OTAs. We talked about it through training camp. We have presentations every week about what’s going on around the league. Ro [Rohit Mogalayapalli] does a great job with our situational management, but there is so much.”

Cousins went deeper, “Every walk thru, we try to simulate a situation and walk and talk through it and play through it, and it’s difficult. I wish I had been better at the end of the Chiefs game. So, sometimes the bullets are flying, it’s going fast, and you’ve got a lot to process. But the better you can handle those situations, they tend to be the inches that make the difference.”

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/raiders/onsi as Hondo’s Raiders Musings: Inside Vegas’ Prep for Potential Upset.

This story was originally published October 15, 2026 at 3:30 AM.

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Hondo’s Raiders Musings: Inside Vegas’ Prep for Potential Upset