The New Orleans Saints will host the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3 on September 27, 2026 at 3:25 pm on CBS. Former Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak returns to the Caesars Superdome as head coach of the Raiders. The Saints will look to avenge their 25-10 defeat in 2024, the last time these two teams met.
Let's take a deeper look at the Saints' Week 3 opponent, the Las Vegas Raiders:
2026 NFL WEEK 3: NEW ORLEANS SAINTS vs. LAS VEGAS RAIDERS
Meet your Saints opponent: Las Vegas Raiders
Coach: Klint Kubiak
Quarterback: Kirk Cousins, Fernando Mendoza
2025 record: 3-14, fourth in AFC West
Most recent regular season matchup: Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024 - Raiders 25, Saints 10
Raiders-Saints series record: Raiders lead 8-7-1
Las Vegas Raiders 2025 season recap:
While the Raiders opened the season with a win over the eventual AFC Champion New England Patriots in Week 1, the season started heading in another direction quickly as they lost the next four straight. The Raiders secured their next win against the Tennessee Titans in Week 6 but lost their next 10 games before closing the season with a win over the Kansas City Chiefs to end the year 3-14 and fourth in the AFC West.
| 2025 Raiders Per Game Stats | League Ranking | |
|---|---|---|
| Scoring Avg. | 14.2 | 32 |
| Opp. Scoring Avg. | 25.4 | 25 |
| Total Off. | 245.2 | 32 |
| Rushing Off. | 77.5 | 32 |
| Passing Off. | 167.7 | 28 |
| Total Def. | 317.8 | 14 |
| Rushing Def. | 116.8 | 17 |
| Passing Def. | 201.0 | 14 |
Deep Dive: Las Vegas Raiders roster review
1. Pair of new quarterbacks
After receiving the no. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Raiders selected quarterback Fernando Mendoza fresh off securing a national championship victory with the Indiana Hoosiers and the Heisman Trophy. Mendoza lead the Hoosiers to a 16-0 record, completing 273 of his 379 passing attempts (72.0%) for 41 touchdowns and only six interceptions.
The Raiders are not expected to throw Mendoza into the fire right away as they also brought in veteran Kirk Cousins in free agency. Cousins played in 10 games (eight starts) with the Atlanta Falcons in 2025 and completed 166 of his 269 passing attempts for 1,721 (61.7%) with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions.
2. Familiar face at head coach
The Raiders brought in a new head coach Saints fans should be familiar with in former offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Most recently, Kubiak was the offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks where he helped the team to a victory in Super Bowl LX. Raiders players have described him as having an "all-ball" mentality as he looks to help the Raiders rebound from a record that tied for the league-worst in 2025.
"In this league, if you don't take care of business, then you get chewed up and spit out real quick," Kubiak said in his introductory press conference. "And every one of us up here has been through that. So, I'm going to have to earn the right to coach this whole season, to coach the next season. I have got to show Mr. Davis that our program is about the right things and that we're developing these players. So, I don't take for granted how long I'm going to be here. I know that I have to earn it every day."
3. Improvements to the offensive line
Coming off a season in which they allowed the most sacks per passing attempt and had the fewest rushing yards per play, improving the offensive line was a priority for the Raiders in the offseason. They addressed in free agency with the team bringing in Pro-Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum who helped pave the way for the Baltimore Ravens for four seasons only missing two games in his career.
They also expect the return of left tackle Kolton Miller and guard/center Jackson Powers-Johnson who both missed time with ankle injuries in 2025. Miller was limited to four games while Powers Johnson was limited to eight games.
