Raiders’ Defense Forces Four Second-Half Takeaways to Rally Past Saints
The Las Vegas Raiders forced four second-half turnovers to rally from a double-digit deficit and beat the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome, improving to 3-0 for the first time since 2021. The Saints led 27-16 late in the third quarter after Tyler Shough threw his fourth touchdown of the day, dicing up the Raiders defense for much of the game. The contest was the Saints’ home opener in a hostile environment in New Orleans.
Malcolm Koonce created the first turnover with just over 13 minutes remaining when he tipped a pass as Shough released the ball and Maxx Crosby recovered, setting up a Raiders touchdown drive that gave Las Vegas the lead. “When I hit him, I saw the ball come up,” Koonce said. “I thought the ball was going forward so I just assumed it was a strip sack.” Head coach Klint Kubiak credited the teams composure, saying, “It is a four-quarter game. You just keep playing. Our guys kept playing.”
On the next Saints possession, Koonce pressured Shough into an underthrown pass that rookie Hezekiah Masses intercepted, his third career pick after catching two last week. The takeaway set up a touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins to Brock Bowers that pushed the Raiders’ advantage to eight points. “They just did a phenomenal job. It really pushed the wind at our back as an offense,” Cousins said.
Late in the game Las Vegas sent an all-out blitz on a fourth-down Saints attempt and safety Jeremy Chinn forced a strip that cornerback Taron Johnson recovered. An illegal-contact penalty on Chinn negated an interception by Tonka Hemingway earlier in the sequence. Nakobe Dean then forced a fumble on tight end Juwan Johnson and Eric Stokes recovered to seal the victory. Kubiak called the four second-half takeaways “the catalyst to the game.”
The Raiders defense has provided a dominant early-season identity. Las Vegas has forced multiple turnovers in three straight games to begin a season for the first time since 2007 and has nine takeaways through three games, its most through a three-game stretch since 2002. The unit also has not allowed a fourth-quarter point through three games, tying the club’s longest streak to start a season (1981, 1982). “We have a great group of guys that loves playing football together,” Maxx Crosby said.
NFL Sports Blog Take
Las Vegas’ win in New Orleans reaffirmed that this defense is the engine of the team. The pass rush repeatedly created chaos in the fourth quarter, producing tipped balls, strip sacks and interceptions that directly led to scoring opportunities for Kirk Cousins and the offense. Sustaining this rate of takeaways and continuing to shut down opponents late will be the key test as the Raiders face tougher offenses in the weeks ahead.