Overlooked for much of the offseason, Las Vegas and New Orleans have started to turn heads around the NFL after upset victories in Week 2.
Autumn has officially begun, and there are always some familiar comforts that come with the changing of the seasons.
The NFL schedule is in full swing, and we can once again feel the rhythm of going from Thursday to Sunday to Monday. Summer’s stifling heat has begun to subside, and somehow you already hate your fantasy football team.
Many early results in the NFL also offer the comfort of familiarity. The Kansas City Chiefs are 2-0, thanks to Patrick Mahomes and a revamped running game with Kenneth Walker III.
The Seattle Seahawks have shown no signs of a Super Bowl hangover after a 2-0 start, and perennial contenders like the Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers are also undefeated.
But every autumn also brings some surprises, and late September is often about discerning which results were anomalies and which ones indicate that the preseason predictions were wrong.
Some unpleasant surprises have been injuries to quarterbacks, including the Washington Commanders’ Jayden Daniels, the New York Giants’ Jaxson Dart, the Chicago Bears’ Caleb Williams and the Minnesota Vikings’ Kyler Murray.
As for results, the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers entered the season with Super Bowl aspirations but have been disappointing so far at 0-2.
On a positive note, the Carolina Panthers and quarterback Bryce Young entered this season without much fanfare but lead the NFC in scoring through two weeks.
Two other teams who have experienced surprising success so far in 2026 will face each other in Week 3 when the Las Vegas Raiders (2-0) visit the New Orleans Saints (1-1) on Sunday, leaving the winner with a meaningfully hot start and at least a share of a division lead.
How They Got Here
The Raiders went 3-14 last season and made massive changes in the offseason to rebuild.
Las Vegas quickly moved on from their one-year reclamation projects of Pete Carroll at head coach and Geno Smith under center, turning an eye toward the future.
Klint Kubiak was named the Raiders’ new head coach after he helped lead the Seahawks to a Super Bowl win as their offensive coordinator, and Las Vegas used the No. 1 overall draft pick on Indiana quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza.
To not rush Mendoza onto the field, the Raiders signed Kirk Cousins in the offseason and gave the veteran the starting nod. They also signed several other starters in free agency, including center Tyler Linderbaum and linebackers Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean.
This infusion of talent has paid off so far for the Black and Silver. Their 27-13 season-opening win over the Miami Dolphins went largely under the radar, but the Raiders turned some heads last week with their 26-14 road victory over the Chargers.
So far, Las Vegas’ defensive front seven has been dominant, and Cousins is tied for the league lead with six touchdown passes.
The Saints started their rebuild last season by making Kellen Moore head coach and eventually making Tyler Shough the starting quarterback.
New Orleans ended last season with four wins in its final five games, but some wondered if the results were fools’ gold.
The Saints opened their 2026 campaign with a heartbreaking loss to the Detroit Lions, answering Detroit’s overtime touchdown with one of their own but failing on the two-point attempt.
Last week, New Orleans stunned the NFL community with a 24-17 road win over the Baltimore Ravens by scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter.
Shough hasn’t been perfect, but he has shown clear signs of being an NFL starter, especially in Moore’s high-paced offense, and he enters Week 3 as the league’s passing yards leader at 662.
Shough will face a new test on Sunday in the Raiders’ fearsome defensive front.
Sunday’s Key Matchup
While the Raiders have seen some promising improvement on offense, especially at quarterback, the core reason for the 2-0 start in Las Vegas has been the defense.
Inversely, the Saints’ promising start has been fueled by their offense, creating a strength-versus-strength matchup to watch on Sunday.
Despite the offseason acquisition of Travis Etienne Jr., the Saints’ ground game has been anemic at 3.0 yards per carry. This has led to 62.5% of New Orleans’ play calls on first downs being passes, the third highest rate in the league.
In all likelihood, the Saints’ prospects of winning on Sunday rest on the right shoulder of Shough as he faces a pass defense that has been stifling so far this season.
The Raiders’ defense has held opposing quarterbacks to a league-low 63.2 passer rating this season and is averaging four sacks per game, tied for the NFL lead.
Las Vegas has pressured opposing quarterbacks on 63.6% of dropbacks this season, ranking second and way above the league average of 44.2%. This has come while blitzing at a below-average rate of 27.3%.
Of course, when the Raiders do blitz, their numbers are even better, allowing a passer rating of just 20.37.
Leading the charge for the Raiders is perennial Pro Bowler Maxx Crosby, who has 1.5 sacks and whose 14 quarterback pressures rank third among edge defenders.
But Las Vegas has also generated pressure across the line, with Malcolm Koonce, Kwity Paye, Folorunso Fatukasi, Jonah Laulu and Thomas Booker IV all having pressure rates above league average at their positions.
The task of blocking the Raiders got even tougher for the Saints this week after they announced that starting left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. was placed on injured reserve following surgery to repair a high ankle sprain.
So far this season, the Saints have leaned heavily on a quick passing game to negate pressure and to act as an extension of a struggling running game.
A passing play is considered to be a “quick” concept when the quarterback takes a one- or three-step drop to receivers on relatively short routes (slants, flats, quick outs).
New Orleans has run quick concepts a league-high 48 times in their two games. Entering Week 3, no other team had run more than 27 quick passes.
These short, rhythmic passes can also create a trap for the defense, however.
As defenders creep closer to the line of scrimmage and play more press coverage, Moore has dialed up timely deep shots, and Shough has the arm to generate big plays.
On pass attempts targeted at receivers more than 20 yards downfield, Shough is 6 of 8 for 197 yards and a touchdown.
On the other hand, the Las Vegas defense has locked down passes of over 20 air yards, allowing a measly 0.5 passer rating on deep shots.
Sunday’s result will largely come down to whose strength can outweigh their opponents’ strength, and the stakes are high for two young teams looking to make an impression.
The Raiders have a chance to improve to 3-0 after winning just three games last season, and a Week 4 showdown against the rival Chiefs would be in the national spotlight.
The Saints could be 2-1 heading into their division opener next week against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football, giddy after finally finding their next quarterback-head coach combination.
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