HENDERSON, Nev.—The Las Vegas Raiders (4-5) host the defending Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks (5-4), on Sunday, but before that, the NFL trade deadline looms large on Tuesday at 1 PM PT.

Report Card

The weekly report card looks at the offense, defense, special teams, coaching, and fan base in broad terms. It dives into the Raiders' week, game by game.

The Raiders are young and rebuilding, but ironically, this loss sits squarely on the shoulders of underperforming veterans, and that shouldn't be.

So without further ado, let’s dig into our assessment.

Offense: F

In the National Football League, most teams set a weekly goal of 24 points, and elite offenses shoot for 28-30. In the midst of a rebuilding project, the Raiders are held to that standard of 24 offensive points scored.

In the case of a pick-six, or a safety, those points are generally deducted.

The Raiders had multiple turnovers (5), all in the second half, including a pick-six.

Two of those fumbles came from the reliable tight ends of Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer. While you can’t ignore those mistakes, it would be equally foolish to blame them for this anemic offense—a point Kubiak addressed.

“I think when you’re professional and you do things the right way, 90% of the time there’s not a whole lot you need to say. Those guys are harder on themselves than anybody. Now, we still talk to them. We still talk about it. We’ve got to coach the ball security better. Credit to San Francisco. 54 [Fred Warner] and I think 20 [Upton Stout] did a great job of forcing some balls out. But those are two of our best players that we really count on making the improvement going into the next game.”

Cousins technically had three turnovers, one of which, while it goes against him, I believe was not one I lay at his feet. Kubiak agrees with me, but discussed the turnovers by his 15-year veteran signal caller.

“Kirk [Cousins] has been an extremely solid decision maker all season. There’s ones he wants back. He wants back the first play of [the] second half. [He] wants back the one in the red zone where we did not give him protection to make a good decision. In the last play of the game, we’re trying to make a play, so he wants those back. But we’re not in the position that we are without the amazing decisions he’s made all year. So, we’ve got to coach up those ones and help him learn from them.”

He added more about Cousins, including the one INT I don’t hold against him. "But again, I’m very pleased with, the quarterback has to be the best decision maker on the team, any organization. He wasn’t on those two plays, and that last one I’m calling a heave-ho.”

The offensive line continued to struggle, and QB Kirk Cousins completed only seven passes to wide receivers.

The most telling stat, other than points, was that RBs Ashton Jeanty and Mike Washington Jr. (MWJ) had a combined 17 touches via rushing or receiving, and only got 17 yards. I asked Klint Kubiak about that stat specifically, and he, true to his character, started the blame with himself. “Well, it starts with me just making sure that we’re opening run lanes for them and that we’re getting them in positions to touch the ball more. Touch the ball more on the ground, especially.”

Despite the dismal performance, the no-quit Raiders still found themselves within striking distance, midway through the fourth quarter before imploding.

Defense: F

In the NFL, 24 is the benchmark for an offense; 20 is the benchmark for the defense. You take away safeties and the opponent's defensive scores, and the Raiders gave up 31 points.

The 49ers were certainly aided by consistently good field position, but the reality is that the defense, especially in a brutal first half, was bad. Kubiak addressed that specifically: “I think it’s just playing better four quarters. We’ve had solid halves, we’ve had more aggressive halves, and we’ve had some really bad first halves. So, we’ve got to find a way to play a four-quarter game.”

The knee-jerk reaction for the ill-informed is to blame the first-year DC Rob Leonard. The Raiders knew they were young at DB, brutally thin on the DL, and, frankly, had highly paid veterans who weren’t living up to their contracts.

None of that is on Leonard, and Kubiak addressed the calls for wholesale change by bringing some parts of Raider Nation down to reality. “In fact, I see us doing the things we said we were going to do better. Stand behind Rob [Leonard]. Stand behind our defensive staff. Stand behind our players."

"And I think the world wants someone’s head on a platter every time things don’t go right. But the way that I see it is that we brought people here for a reason, to get a job done and develop players for the long haul, and that’s where we’re going.”

When pressed as to why he has faith in his defense, Kubiak pounced. Not in an aggressive or attacking way, but in the way of a former coach's kid who has seen lots of times blame placed at the feet of people that is either unwarranted or poorly attributed.

“I see it work, just not for four quarters. And I have belief. I have belief in the scheme we run. I have belief in the coaches that run it. I have belief in our play caller. I have belief in the players that execute. But as a group, as coaches and as players, it’s putting four quarters of football together. No matter who the opponent, you play a damn good offense in San Francisco, there’s got to be a happy medium somewhere between that first half and second half.”

Let me take you back and illustrate this point for you in detail.

With 5:15 left in the second quarter, San Francisco 49ers superstar RB Christian McCaffrey burst through the line on a pass play, and DTs Tonka Hemingway and Adam Butler dropped back into coverage.

Conceptually, that's not a bad idea to protect against underneath routes common in the 49ers' and, similarly, the Raiders' scheme.

The problem was that well-paid OLB Quay Walker was supposed to peel off and cover McCaffrey. He did not. Ill-informed people watching berated Leonard, who wouldn’t, and didn’t call for either large DT to cover the San Francisco star.

To the ill-informed, it looked like a total Leonard failure, but looks are deceiving, and often, as in the case of this play, inaccurate. I asked Kubiak specifically about that play, and he confirmed what I just told you: it was an execution mistake, not a schematic issue.

“It was. Yeah, we did not peel on the halfback. That was not those guys’ job, though.”

Special Teams: A

Once again, Joe DeCamillis did an amazing job, and whether it was “He who shall not be named” (DeCamillis has asked me not to mention a certain long-snapper who is playing great) cough…cough…Alex Ward, the blocking, the attacking schemes, and everyone involved are right now among the most feared special teams units in all of the NFL.

Credit DeCamillis: Teams are trying to avoid Dylan Laube, but the mad scientist overseeing Kubiak’s special teams has found new, creative ways to get him the ball and attack. It's turned into a weekly pat on the back, but I had to ask Kubiak about Laube's continued exceptional play.

“He continues to make plays, the expectations grow, and then he meets and exceeds them again this week. But he doesn’t do it alone. I think you’ve got to look at the entire part of it, the coaching on special teams and the players around him setting up blocks. And so, I think as a unit, the special teams has been a bright spot for us.”

Every player, DeCamillis, and his staff deserve a lot of credit for what they have done. Because of the rebuild, many fan bases would miss this, but not Raider Nation—some of the smartest football fans in the entire NFL.

The minutiae of special teams isn’t lost on a first-year head coach who, as I have told you, dedicates more time in practice than any team I have ever covered, and it is paying off.

Coaching: F

It was an F for this game, aside from DeCamillis, but the story is how I got there.

These grades are not for the season; they are for the individual game. The score and loss dictate that grade. Two of the three sides of the ball failed.

But when you have a rebuilding roster, a head coach, defensive coordinator, and offensive coordinator who are first-year young men, that is not only not unexpected; it is frankly shocking that there haven’t been more of these grades this year.

Credit Leonard’s second-half adjustments for the improvement of the D; credit Janocko, who, while not the main play caller, is incredibly embedded in the offense for helping develop the scheme that had the Raiders in a position to strike despite the repeated self-inflicted wounds referenced in my winners and losers article.

Kubiak’s iron jaw refuses to blink or quit, and that is why in a 4-5 season, in big wins and brutal losses, not one time has this team coasted or quit.

In a rebuilding season, that characteristic shone brightly. Kubiak praised his team for it.

“Well, I think one thing that I’m proud of is that we’re not talking about rebuilding. We’re talking about being in every game and winning every game. That’s how we treat it. We’re not looking at the future as coaches or players. You develop the future on the way, but every game we’re talking about winning that game. We are not satisfied with a rebuilding process, so that’s the mentality I want our players and coaches to have.”

Raider Nation: A-

Once again, on the road, the Raider Nation was loud. No, it was not like New Jersey last week, and certainly not like at SoFi Stadium, but they were loud. Like the New Orleans game, the Raider Nation did their part every time the team showed any sign of life.

The team didn’t reward Raider Nation, but this fan base was outstanding.

Extra Credit: A

I haven't done this in 2026 yet, but every report card often offers the person being graded an opportunity to earn extra credit. For the first time in 2026, we have some.

This goes to GM John Spytek and his exceptional staff of Brian Stark, Brandon Hunt, and Brandon Yeargan. Four Raiders rookies shone brightly, despite the veteran blunders.

Those four players were DBs Treydan Stukes, Hezekiah Masses, Jermod McCoy, and RG Trey Zuhn III, who was simply outstanding.

Kubiak was more than willing to address them when I asked on Monday.

“Yes, I’ll start with 31 [Treydan Stukes]. Playmaker, instinctive. Just been really a shot of adrenaline to our operation. With Jermod [McCoy], just a player that’s ascending. That’s making us play multiple DBs because he’s covering at a high level, he’s improving."

"Again, is a guy that we all didn’t know if he’s going to play football this year, and he’s not missing practice. He’s playing in games. He’s staying healthy. He’s progressing, getting better with reps. And then Trey Zuhn [III], in two games, has been a bright spot. We’ll evaluate his health going into this next week.”

I want to dig into the Masses a little bit more.

WR Jordan Watkins, late in the third quarter, made a 37-yard TD catch while being covered by the Masses. That fact alone would once again call on the aforementioned ill-informed to pounce, but not the Raider Nation, who sees football much more clearly.

The more I watched the film early Monday morning, the clearer it became that 49ers QB Brock Purdy, an elite QB, made a perfect throw, and Watkins made the catch. This is the NFL, and those guys are paid a lot of money.

Masses' coverage was nearly perfect. You can’t attribute that TD to him as a mistake because he covered it in textbook fashion.

But let’s be honest. My opinion and yours are irrelevant. I told Kubiak about my observation, and his is what matters. He agreed with me, saying, “Yeah, it was a really good throw and catch. And Zeke is a guy that’s one of our best man guys out there. So, he can make that play, and he will. He’ll be given opportunities to do so moving forward.”

I have told you countless times how young the Raiders are, but they are talented. Consider the CB position, where Jermod McCoy, who may eventually be the steal of the 2026 NFL Draft, Masses, and sophomore starting CB Darien Porter are all excelling. Kubiak offered even more insight and praise on those three youngsters.

“I think we’ve got young guys that are playing good football that we’re going to keep playing all of them. Zeke and DP [Darien Porter] and Jermod [McCoy], and we’ll let the cream rise to the top and those guys will play more.”