Two and oh, Raider Nation. I am sat here with the biggest grin on my face, on a sunny Tuesday afternoon. I am a fan first and a level-headed writer a distant second, where the Raiders are concerned.
Las Vegas Raiders are 2-0 for the first time in longer than I care to admit.
The best part is not even the record. It is how they did it. Las Vegas went to Los Angeles, beat the Chargers 26-14 on their own field, and did it with a pass rush that, by at least one measure, is now the most disruptive defence in the entire league (NFL.com). Last season the Raiders lost in that same building 31-14. This one was never really that close.
If you missed it, last week they opened with a 27-13 win over Miami, and the story was the same one: the defence set the tone and Kirk Cousins did the rest. Here is what mattered this time.
How the game went
Nobody scored in the first quarter, which suited the Raiders fine, because the longer the game stayed tight the more their defence took over.
Las Vegas led 10-7 at the half, 17-14 after three, and then shut the Chargers out in the fourth while adding nine points of their own to win going away.
| Quarter | Raiders | Chargers |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 0 | 0 |
| Q2 | 10 | 7 |
| Q3 | 7 | 7 |
| Q4 | 9 | 0 |
| Final | 26 | 14 |
Source: NFL.com game centre, Raiders at Chargers Week 2.
Here is how the points actually went up.
| Quarter | Scoring play | Score (LV-LAC) |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 11:51 | Raiders: Cousins 40-yard touchdown pass to Tucker | 7-0 |
| Q2 5:26 | Chargers: Hampton 1-yard touchdown run | 7-7 |
| Q2 0:04 | Raiders: Gay 59-yard field goal | 10-7 |
| Q3 9:49 | Chargers: Herbert 10-yard touchdown pass to Gadsden | 10-14 |
| Q3 3:53 | Raiders: Cousins 13-yard touchdown pass to White | 17-14 |
| Q4 2:59 | Raiders: Cousins 11-yard touchdown pass to White | 24-14 |
| Q4 1:41 | Raiders: safety, Chargers holding in the end zone | 26-14 |
That last line is worth a look, because it is the rarest way to score in football.
A safety is two points awarded to the defence, and this one came when the Chargers were flagged for a holding foul committed inside their own end zone.
Commit a penalty like that behind your own goal line and the other team is simply handed two points and the ball.
It was a fittingly tidy way to cap a game the Raiders controlled, and if you want the full list of ways points go on the board, how scoring works has it.
The whole afternoon ran through the Raiders’ pass rush. Justin Herbert, who is a strong quarterback, spent the day being chased, hit and hurried, and the Chargers kept putting the ball on the floor under the pressure.
When a defence dictates a game like that, the offence does not need to be spectacular, it just needs to not get in the way, and the Raiders managed exactly that. If you want the full picture of the jobs a defence is actually doing on a play like this, I keep it here: the defence, decoded.
Pressure rate: the stat that made me sit up
What is pressure rate? It is the share of an opponent’s dropbacks on which the defence disrupts the quarterback, and disruption means a sack, a hit, or a hurry, not only the sacks that show up on the scoreboard.
According to Next Gen Stats, the Raiders are generating a quarterback pressure rate of 50.0% through two weeks, the highest in the NFL (NFL Researcher). SumerSports, a different stats model, has them a shade lower but still second in the league at 51.5%, which it grades in the 98th percentile of any defence since 2022 (Shawn Syed).
The Las Vegas Raiders defense generated a 45.2% pressure rate (81st percentile) against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2
— Shawn Syed (@SyedSchemes) September 21, 2026
The Raiders defense currently ranks 2nd in the league with a 51.5% pressure rate (98th percentile over two games since 2022), per @SumerSports
Roughly half of everything Herbert tried on Sunday, the Raiders got a hand in. The two numbers differ slightly because the two services define a “pressure” a little differently, which is a useful reminder that a single stat is only ever as good as its definition. Either way, the message is the same: this is the loudest part of the team right now. If you want to know which defensive numbers are worth watching and what each one is really telling you, defence stats, decoded lays them out.
Highest QB pressure rate in 2026, per @NextGenStats:
— NFL Researcher (@NFL_Researcher) September 21, 2026
1. Raiders – 50.0%
2. Vikings – 49.4%
3. Packers – 45.6%
4. Eagles – 45.2%
5. Ravens – 43.8%
Lowest QB pressure rate…
28. Colts – 28.4%
29. Bears – 28.4%
30. Bills – 27.9%
31. Cardinals – 27.9%)
32. Rams – 27.8%…
Fumbles, the bit that confused me
While we are on the subject of the pass rush, one stat about it went round Raiders social on Sunday night and needs a second look, because it is a lovely example of how a football number can mislead you.
The first version doing the rounds was that the Raiders had forced six fumbles, which would have put them one off an NFL single-game record of seven. That would have been a story in itself, but it was not quite true.
The person who posted it corrected himself within the hour: the Chargers fumbled the ball six times, but the Raiders were credited with forcing four of those (Alex Monfreda).
That gap is the whole lesson. A fumble is simply the ball coming loose, and it goes against whoever was holding it.
A forced fumble is different: it is credited to the specific defender who knocked it out, and it is the one that measures the hit.
And then a fumble recovery is a third thing again, who actually ends up with the ball once it is on the floor, which can be either team.
Six loose balls is not the same as six forced fumbles, which is not the same as six takeaways.
The Raiders had a genuinely destructive day either way, but the honest number is four forced, not six, and the record was never really in danger. I unpick this kind of thing in defence stats, decoded and the plain-English rules glossary.
The Las Vegas Raiders’ defense tied for the second-most fumbles forced in an NFL game.
— Alex Monfreda (@AlexMonfreda) September 20, 2026
The record: 7
The Raiders today: 6
The takes
It was not all defence. Kirk Cousins had another tidy afternoon, going 19 of 29 for 253 yards and three touchdowns, which StatMuse noted made him one of the most productive active quarterbacks in three-touchdown games (StatMuse).
Pro Football Focus’s grades told a clearer story of how, Cousins beat Herbert in nearly every column that mattered, three touchdowns to one, one interception to two, and a passer rating of 113.0 against Herbert’s 59.5 (PFF). When the quarterback everyone rates gets outplayed by the quarterback nobody talks about, that is the take of the day.
RECAP: Raiders shock Chargershttps://t.co/Ts6MW4GyhO pic.twitter.com/aMLQgeOmqd
— PFF (@PFF) September 21, 2026
What glorious day it was. The Raiders’ own account sums up the mood better than I can.
Today was a good day 😎 #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/jfaX4AhoEo
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) September 21, 2026
Where the Raiders sit now
Two wins in, the Raiders sit level at the top of the AFC West, and for once the view is worth enjoying. Isn’t it nice to be able to see down below!
| AFC West | Record |
|---|---|
| Kansas City Chiefs | 2-0 |
| Las Vegas Raiders | 2-0 |
| Denver Broncos | 1-1 |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 0-2 |
Kansas City kept pace, so the division still runs through the champions until somebody knocks them off it, which is the oldest story in Raiders football.
But the underlying maths has genuinely shifted. The Athletic’s playoff model now gives Las Vegas a 22% chance of reaching the postseason, up from 8% before the season, and a 7% shot at the division, up from 3% (Sam Warren, via The Athletic’s Raiders playoff simulator — subscription needed or get a free 7-day trial to view).
Read that for what it is, one model’s summary of where a 2-0 start leaves them, not a promise.
If you want to understand how a fast start actually turns into a playoff place, the NFL playoffs and seeding explains what 2-0 is really worth, and the AFC and NFC covers why the division race matters most.
How did the rest of the league do
The Raiders were one of sixteen games again, and there was plenty going on elsewhere in Week 2. Although this for me was THE highlight! Check out the full Week 2 roundup across the league in my write up.
Before I get too carried away
I know how this works. Two good weeks in September is a reason to smile, not a reason to book anything for January, and the pressure rate will come back to earth the moment the Raiders meet an offence that can get the ball out quickly.
But 2-0 is 2-0, the defence looks like it could ruin people’s Sundays all year, and I am going to enjoy every minute until proven otherwise. If you want to relive it, the club put together a proper highlight reel that is well worth your time (Raiders.com highlights). See you next Tuesday, Raider Nation. I’ll just leave this here…
Done, NEXT.
— Maxx Crosby (@CrosbyMaxx) September 21, 2026
LFG!!! 🦅🏴☠️🖤
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