The Las Vegas Raiders were down 27–16 in the third quarter Sunday. Tyler Shough had thrown four touchdown passes, the New Orleans Saints had scored twice in less than a minute of game time, and the Caesars Superdome was getting exactly the home opener it wanted.
Then Mike Washington Jr. broke a 36-yard touchdown run. Las Vegas forced a fumble. Kirk Cousins put the Raiders ahead. Rookie cornerback Hezekiah Masses grabbed an interception, and Brock Bowers turned the resulting short field into seven more points.
By the end of the fourth quarter, the Saints’ final five possessions had produced a punt and four turnovers. The Raiders left New Orleans with a 35–27 win, their first 3–0 start since 2021. It was a comeback that showed both why this team is difficult to put away and why it cannot expect every Sunday to finish this way.
Cousins completed 22 of 33 passes for 248 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Bowers, making his 2026 debut, caught 10 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown. Shough finished with 255 yards and four touchdowns, but his interception and lost fumble helped turn an 11-point Saints lead into a Raiders victory. The official box score tells a close statistical story: New Orleans gained 381 yards to Las Vegas’ 340 and held the ball nearly five minutes longer. The turnover sequence tells the story of the result.
Raiders vs. New Orleans Saints Score by Quarter
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Las Vegas Raiders | 3 | 13 | 6 | 13 | 35 |
| New Orleans Saints | 6 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 27 |
First Quarter: Shough Finds His Feet, and the Saints Take the Lead
Las Vegas opened with a 12-play, 53-yard drive, but a holding penalty wiped out an Ashton Jeanty run and Chase Young sacked Cousins before the Raiders could reach the end zone. Matt Gay made a 41-yard field goal for a 3–0 lead.
After an initial three-and-out, New Orleans answered with its first sustained drive. Shough’s 36-yard scramble changed the field, and the Saints converted four third downs on a 13-play, 79-yard possession. He finished it with a two-yard touchdown pass to Juwan Johnson.
Thomas Booker IV blocked Daniel Carlson’s extra-point attempt, keeping the Saints’ lead at 6–3. That point would matter as the teams traded scores through the first half. More revealing was how New Orleans had moved the ball: Shough was comfortable extending the drive, and Las Vegas had trouble getting the Saints off the field when it had the chance.
Second Quarter: Cousins and Mayer Put Las Vegas Ahead at Halftime
Gay tied the game with a 37-yard field goal early in the second. The Raiders then forced a Saints three-and-out and got the touchdown their opening drives had lacked. Cousins found Michael Mayer from three yards out, and Las Vegas moved ahead 13–6.
The lead lasted one possession. Shough drove New Orleans 72 yards and connected with Noah Fant for a three-yard touchdown. Carlson’s extra point made it 13–13.
Cousins led one more productive drive before halftime. Las Vegas got inside the Saints’ 10-yard line but settled for Gay’s third field goal, a 25-yarder, and took a 16–13 lead into the locker room. The Raiders had scored on four first-half possessions, yet only one had ended in a touchdown. Against a Saints offense that was already finding its tight ends near the goal line, those missed chances left little room for error.
Bowers was giving Cousins a dependable target in the middle of the field, while Mayer had supplied the touchdown. The Raiders’ passing game looked capable of moving the ball. Finishing drives remained the issue.
Third Quarter: Two Saints Touchdowns Create an 11-Point Hole
The Raiders went three-and-out to open the second half, and New Orleans took advantage. Shough directed a 12-play, 87-yard drive and threw a one-yard touchdown to Johnson, his second of the afternoon. The Saints led 20–16.
The next swing came on special teams. Anfernee Jennings forced Dylan Laube to fumble the ensuing kickoff return, and Jordan Howden recovered for New Orleans. Two plays and 47 seconds later, Shough found Fant for a 16-yard touchdown. The Saints had turned a four-point deficit into a 27–16 lead.
At that point, Shough had thrown two touchdowns to Johnson and two to Fant. Chris Olave was productive between the scoring plays, and New Orleans had taken control without needing a rushing touchdown. The Raiders needed a quick answer.
Washington provided it. The rookie finished with 54 yards on five carries, but none was bigger than his 36-yard touchdown run. Las Vegas went for two and failed, leaving the score at 27–22. Still, Washington’s burst did more than cut the margin to five. It stopped the Saints’ scoring run and gave the Raiders a way back before the fourth quarter began.
Jeanty finished with 56 rushing yards on 19 carries. He added three catches for 37 yards, but the Raiders’ most important rushing play came from Washington. As Respect My Region noted in its Week 3 preview, Las Vegas needed more from its ground game after Jeanty’s difficult outing against the Chargers. Washington delivered the explosive run, though the offense still leaned heavily on Cousins to finish the comeback.
Fourth Quarter: Four Takeaways Finish the Job
The Saints entered the final quarter with a five-point lead and an offense that had scored on each of its previous two drives. They did not score again.
Malcolm Koonce forced a Shough fumble on a sack, and Maxx Crosby recovered. Cousins used the possession to move Las Vegas downfield and found Cody White for a four-yard touchdown. The two-point pass failed, but the Raiders had reclaimed the lead, 28–27.
White’s catch was his third touchdown connection with Cousins over the past two weeks. That matters for a Raiders passing game getting production beyond its most recognizable targets. With Bowers commanding attention and Mayer already having scored, White gave Cousins another answer close to the goal line.
Masses made the next decisive play. The rookie, who intercepted Justin Herbert twice in last week’s win over the Chargers, picked off Shough and returned the ball to the Saints’ four-yard line. Las Vegas still had to finish the possession. On third down, Cousins hit Bowers for a four-yard touchdown, and Gay’s extra point pushed the lead to 35–27.
New Orleans had opportunities to respond, but the Raiders defense took the ball away twice more. Jeremy Chinn forced a fumble on a fourth-down sack. On the Saints’ final chance, with less than a minute remaining, Nakobe Dean punched the ball loose from Johnson and Eric Stokes recovered. The Saints’ postgame account recorded their last five drives as punt, fumble, interception, fumble, fumble.
Four fourth-quarter takeaways are an extraordinary way to close a game. They also explain why Shough’s four touchdown passes and the Saints’ yardage advantage did not result in a win.
Cousins, Bowers and the Offensive Numbers
Cousins has now thrown three touchdown passes in each of the Raiders’ first three games. Against New Orleans, he protected the football while the game swung sharply in both directions. His touchdown throws went to Mayer, White and Bowers; none of his 33 attempts was intercepted.
Bowers’ return gave the offense its biggest individual performance. His 10 catches and 116 yards led all Raiders receivers, and his fourth-quarter touchdown converted Masses’ interception into a two-score lead. Tre Tucker added four catches for 43 yards, Mayer caught three for 32 and a touchdown, and Jeanty’s 37 receiving yards helped offset his modest rushing total.
Gay also deserves his place in the breakdown. He made field goals from 41, 37 and 25 yards. The Raiders would have preferred touchdowns on those drives, but his nine first-half points kept Las Vegas in front at halftime and within reach when New Orleans surged.
For the Saints, Shough completed 29 of 42 passes for 255 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Olave caught nine passes for 107 yards. Johnson had eight catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns; Fant caught four for 33 yards and two scores. Travis Etienne led New Orleans on the ground with 57 yards on 13 carries, while Alvin Kamara gained 36 yards on nine attempts.
Those are strong individual numbers in a loss. New Orleans moved the ball, converted its early chances and scored 14 straight points in the third. Its offense simply could not hold onto the ball late.
What the 3–0 Start Says About Las Vegas
The Raiders have won their first three games in different ways. They controlled the opener against Miami, made timely plays to beat the Chargers at SoFi Stadium, and came back from 11 down in New Orleans. Under Klint Kubiak, they have shown they can adjust when the first version of a game plan stops working.
Sunday also gave them plenty to correct. The Saints gained more yards, held the ball longer and scored four passing touchdowns. A kickoff-return fumble handed New Orleans a short field at the worst possible time. The offense reached scoring range repeatedly in the first half but settled for three field goals. Las Vegas overcame all of it because its defense took over the final quarter.
That defense is becoming the defining part of this start. Masses followed a two-interception game with another game-changing pick. Koonce and Chinn forced fourth-quarter fumbles. Crosby recovered one. Dean forced the last, and Stokes secured it. The Raiders did not merely protect an eight-point lead; they kept ending Saints possessions.
Now comes an AFC West test. Las Vegas returns home to face the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4, with both teams undefeated. The Raiders have earned the attention that comes with 3–0.
Their trip to New Orleans showed how much fight they have, and how thin the margin can get before the defense takes the ball back.
