Hondo’s Raiders Report Card: Why This Week Was So Ugly

HENDERSON, Nev.—The Las Vegas Raiders (3-2) host the team that many feel will be heading to the Super Bowl to represent the AFC on Sunday when the Buffalo Bills (4-1) and their throngs of “Mafia” come to town.

It will be the toughest test of the season so far for the overachieving, rebuilding Raiders.

Led by first-year head coach Klint Kubiak, who shone for other reasons in New England, the Raiders won't just accept a loss and lay down.

This Raiders team will come in swinging and try to shock the NFL world once again.

The Report Card

But before we turn our attention to the Bills on Sunday, today, after having already reviewed the winners and losers, we offer our weekly report card recap.

Offense: D+

Not a good grade by any standard, but the issues are deeper than that. Kirk Cousins wasn’t the issue at all; he was under pressure the moment he got off the plane, and rumors are rampant that when he dropped off his duffel bag at team headquarters when they returned Sunday night, four Patriots fell out and hit him.

A QB can’t do his job with zero protection.

The same is true for Ashton Jeanty. No Raiders running back could run the football with an offensive line that played so poorly. Jeanty had dropped passes for the second week in a row, but his pass blocking was exceptional, and his lack of yards carrying the ball was an offensive line issue, and not on him.

I asked Kubiak about Jeanty’s drops, and subsequently, the terrific pass blocking.

"Yes, he's always been an excellent pass protector. We count on him on third down, obviously running routes and protecting. And yeah, those are things that are continuing to show up that we have to get fixed as a coaching staff."

Certainly, LT Kolton Miller had to face situations with multiple defenders, and you can’t expect him to block two or three people, but he also got beat one-on-one on multiple occasions, and the guard play was, to be frank, horrendous.

The reality is that the Raiders' offensive struggles against the Patriots came down to blocking breakdowns and an inability to run the ball.

Rick Dennison is the best OL coach in the NFL, but on Sunday, his OL was not good at all, and I am being nice.

The Patriots dominated the line of scrimmage; they owned it wherever it was on the field, holding the Silver and Black to an abysmal 38 rushing yards with a 2.1 yards-per-carry average. How bad is that? You should be able to simply fall forward for that.

With the score quickly out of hand, the Raiders had to abandon the run, allowing the Mike Vrabel Patriots' pass rush to attack and swarm Kirk Cousins like a tiger hunting a gazelle, pressuring him on nearly 48% of his passes, sacking him three times, and forcing a crucial turnover.

Yes, the Raiders don’t have a WR1. But would that have mattered in hindsight?

Ashton Jeanty - TOUCHDOWN | Darrell Craig Harris

After watching the film, the Raiders didn’t lose because of a lack at WR1.

That didn’t help, but it wasn’t the reason.

When an NFL team is forced to go one-dimensional, you won't be successful. Kubiak admitted it.

Mike Washington Jr | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

"I give a lot of credit to New England. They did an excellent job. I just didn't have a good plan for our guys. We didn't execute well. We got behind early, and we weren't able to get the run game going. There's just a lot of reasons that that game didn't work out, and it starts with me."

Everything on offense starts with the offensive line. Tyler Linderbaum had a good day, and Delmar “DJ” Glaze, the Mule, did too, but that is only 40% of your offensive line. The OL grade would be a D- at best, if not an F, but I had to grade the entire offense, and I gave them a D+ because of Cousins' leadership and Brock Bowers' heroic play.

Kolton Miller | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Kirk Cousins echoed his coaches’ sentiments. “I think anytime you're one-dimensional, it probably does make it a little bit easier on a defense. I think also playing from a lead, they can probably afford to be flexible with what they're doing because they've created a bit of a cushion. But you certainly want that run-pass threat at all times if you can have it.”

Defense: F

The Raiders' defense let the 2026 Patriots play like the Tom Brady-led 2007 Patriots, and despite coming off last year's Super Bowl, they are nothing like that 2007 version.

They gave up 45 points and were run over, around, and through all day.

Some individuals played well, but as a unit, they were bad.

Las Vegas Raiders CB Darien Porter | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

During the 45–17 blowout loss, the Silver and Black defense was frankly embarrassed, mainly by explosive plays and Drake Maye's aerial dominance, which topped his stat line with five total touchdowns.

Maye’s effectiveness showed up in crisp passes and relatively little pressure. When Maxx Crosby wasn’t double-teamed or even triple-teamed, the Patriots simply held him, daring the officials to call a holding penalty on every play.

Adam Butler | Darrell Craig Haarris, On SI

The Raiders have to be more engaged and move Crosby around pre-snap to force offenses to search for him and find him on every play. I asked Kubiak exactly about that after being told after the game that the Patriots accounted for Crosby on every play.

"Yeah, I think those are definitely things as a coaching staff that we're talking about. We got to get him in positions to be successful to get near the quarterback."

The Raiders can’t develop an NFL playoff-caliber defense without other players being more consequential at DE.

John Spytek and Klint Kubiak have invested a lot of money in Malcolm Koonce and Kwity Paye, both great young men who were non-existent on Sunday.

Las Vegas Raiders Defensive End Malcolm Koonce — Las Vegas Raiders DE Malcolm Koonce | Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated

They weren’t the only ones, but playing across from Crosby opens up amazing opportunities that, to their credit, they have done all year, until Sunday.

This aforementioned pass-rush void left the Raiders' secondary repeatedly exposed over the top, surrendering major chunk plays to receivers. At the same time, New England also racked up 165 rushing yards as they totaled 536 yards.

Kwity Paye | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

The Raiders' young defense was exploited, but Darien Porter actually played well. Perfect? No, but he far outplayed Hezekiah Masses and it stood out on tape. I asked Kubiak about the young Porter, who has one of the highest football IQs you have ever seen and is only in his sophomore campaign.

"Yeah, I would say that he's a guy that was starting, lost his job for a week, and is so mentally tough that he came back in and played really good football yesterday, and played very competitive. And that's not a surprise. That's the kind of guy that he is, and he's just going to continue to get better, and him and Zeke [Masses] will compete for that job."

Nakobe Dean | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

The Raiders' defense had a bad day. Credit the Patriots, but also credit the Raiders. Along with Porter and Crosby, who both performed better than their teammates, Adam Butler was outstanding, and Nakobe Dean was, well, Nakobe Dean.

This is a resilient group of men who will rebound, but on this day, they failed.

Special Teams: C-

It is no secret that I am all in on special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis. He is the best the Raiders have had in a long time. The two monstrous mistakes on his side of the ball were both by veterans. That isn’t on the coach; it's on the veterans, and both hurt.

Those two critical errors were brutal. But one was worse than the other.

The one that hurt, but was more explainable in the weather, was a missed 49-yard field goal by kicker Matt Gay before halftime, which denied them a chance to cut into New England's lead.

The inexcusable, brutal mistake came when cornerback Darrell Luter Jr. failed to down a punt from AJ Cole near the goal line, giving the defense prime field position.

AJ Cole,Alex Ward | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Cole, as always, was exceptional; Alex Ward was terrific, and overall the teams were fine. But that missed FG that I believe the forthright Gay would tell you he has to make, and an egregious error by Luter, hurt. Badly.

It doesn’t change that Luter was a good addition to this team, and Gay has done a very good job as the kicker. But Luter can’t make that mistake again and expect to keep a roster spot.

Coaching: F

With a first-year head coach, defensive coordinator (Robbie Leonard), and offensive coordinator (Andrew Janocko), you expect mistakes, and I prepared you for them.

Sunday was the first time all year they all had bad days on the same day.

There is no reason to panic. The reasonable understand that, and let’s not forget that, despite the complete loathing and hatred from Patriots fans, that staff is elite.

Andrew Janocko | Darrell CraigHarris, On SI

This is a rebuilding year, and each of these men has legitimate reasons why their particular areas struggled.

I get that, and respect it. But on that day, the Raiders' coaching failed to find answers and make adjustments that succeeded.

Las Vegas Raiders DC Rob Leonard | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

If you want the blunt truth, I am shocked it took them five weeks to get this grade. That speaks to their talent level and upside.

We all have bad days; they just had theirs with 30 million people watching. They will have more bad days, and they will find ways to win, even this season. They won’t win on days when all of them are bad.

Just like any other team, family, or organization.

Klint Kubiak | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Bad coaching in one game is disappointing. But that doesn’t make them bad coaches. Remember, they wouldn’t have been 3-1 coming into this game, and everyone, this reporter included, declared they could flip the script from a rebuild to the playoffs.

Young coaches make young coach mistakes. But great coaches were once young, promising, good coaches who also had bad days, just like this group.

Raider Nation: A

Again, they showed up; they were loud, and despite the halftime trolling, they were impressive. No one was surprised the Raiders lost; it was how they lost. This amazing, loyal group of people who see their fandom as a way of life did their part. They always do. You all showed up in large numbers, and while you did, your team didn’t.

That stunk; your team stunk, but you shined.

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