The reality of the 2026 Las Vegas Raiders is that they will probably not be as good as they have looked the first two weeks of the season, and they will not be as bad, overall, as things might go the next six weeks.

If they remain anything as close to the winning operation they have been thus far under rookie head coach Klint Kubiak, then you won’t be seeing first-overall pick Fernado Mendoza at quarterback in the first half of the season. 

No matter what the larger realities of this season become, the Raiders do appear to be changing their culture, as banal a saying as that has become in the NFL, and they are finding ways to win games they’d often lose.

How much of that is due to football’s ultimate winner, Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady, being such an active part of their ownership group is difficult to say, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.

This is very much a rebuilding team, and after wins over the tanking Dolphins and sputtering Chargers, the challenge will be much different with the Saints, Chiefs, Patriots, Bills and Rams to come. 

What’s clear is this offense is exponentially more functional and professional grade than a year ago. 

Veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins is the perfect fit many expected, edge defender Maxx Crosby (after the Ravens scuttled a trade to Baltimore) is playing like a man possessed (again as many execs told me would be the case) and the team’s most dynamic offensive player. 

Tight end Brock Bowers has yet to play a snap due to injury but is very much in play for Week 3.