How Raiders Aim To Stop Mahomes Magic in Week 4

The Las Vegas Raiders' 3-0 start will be tested on Sunday when they face Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium. The Raiders have used a sound defense and an opportunistic offense to secure three consecutive wins to start the season.

None of the teams Las Vegas has played so far are on the Chiefs' level. Mahomes, Andy Reid, and company will stress the Raiders on both sides of the ball more than any team they faced in the first three weeks of the season. As Las Vegas looks to rebuild, there's no better test.

There is no way around it; Mahomes has dominated the Raiders since he became a starter. Las Vegas has simply not had the answers for Mahomes. With Rob Leonard leading the defense and better overall coaching, the Raiders look to not only compete but also pull off the upset.

Offensively, Las Vegas must score enough points to help their budding defense. The Raiders have played complementary football so far this season. They must do so again on Sunday, which will require their offense to elevate more to match their defense.

Different Raiders

The roster additions Las Vegas made this offseason will surely affect Sunday's game. However, the Raiders may finally have a staff that can compete with Kansas City's. This is the case on both sides of the ball, but especially on offense, where Las Vegas has struggled in recent seasons.

Scoring enough points is just as critical as stopping Mahomes. The Raiders will need both sides of the ball to step up on Sunday. Earlier this week, Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins shared his thoughts on Kubiak and how he has grown as a coach and a play caller.

"That'd be hard to pin down any one trait. I think he's organized. I think it doesn't feel scattered. It feels like it's an organized plan. I don't get surprised. Feel like we're on the same page. Feel like he gets the play calls in quickly, and I only say that not really off the sample size of the last three weeks, but more off of 2021, and even him being my quarterback coach in '19 and '20."

“I just appreciate that organizational skills, but also the desire to continuously improve. I think at times we come back from a win, and he doesn't allow the outcome of a win to cause him to let his guard down on things that need to be coached hard, and that's comforting for me because I love kind of feeling like nothing's going to get past his watchful eye. So, I think there's a kindred spirit there from a continuous improvement mindset, and that gives me peace."

Raiders' Improved Roster

The Raiders added players to essentially every position group on the roster. They did so to improve the team and close the massive talent gap between their roster last season and those around the AFC West and the league as a whole.

After the season's first three games, Las Vegas has reason to be cautiously optimistic. Their upcoming schedule, starting with Sunday's matchup against the Chiefs, is one of the toughest in the league. The Raiders will face some of the league's best teams over the next month.

Their 3-0 start is commendable, especially considering where the roster was just a few months ago. However, a 4-0 start with two wins within the division would make it nearly impossible to deny these Raiders any longer. As long as it is not a blowout, a loss means little, but a win means a ton.

The Raiders have circled at the bottom of the division for most of the last decade, while the Chiefs have done the opposite, winning the division nearly 10 consecutive seasons. As an organization and a team, the Chiefs are where the Raiders hope to be one day.

Sunday's matchup will show how far the Raiders have come since the two teams last met in last season's final game. Sunday will also show how much further they have to go to get to Kansas City's level.

The gap between the two teams may not be as big as it once was.

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