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Las Vegas stays perfect with Week 2 win in SoFi Stadium
Quarterback Kirk Cousins hurled three touchdown passes for a second consecutive week as his Las Vegas Raiders stayed perfect in the early going of the new season.
Following a win over Miami last week, Las Vegas stacked a pair of wins with a 26-14 win over the Los Angeles Chargers Sunday, Sept. 20 from SoFi Stadium. It’s the first win for the franchise over its division rival since the 2023 campaign in a 63-21 drubbing.
Prior to Sunday, the Raiders had been swept in back-to-back seasons by the Chargers.
“I was really proud of our team finishing the game,” head coach Klint Kubiak said. “Didn’t start out great and we’ve got guys stepping up [...] Really proud of the effort, already ready to move on to next week.”
Another road game sits ahead of Las Vegas as it travels to New Orleans next week for a date with the Saints. That contest is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 27 from the Caesars Superdome.
Kickoff is set for 1:25 p.m.
“We’ve got 15 more games,” Kubiak said. “Really proud of today but the way that you win more is you forget about it quick and you go back to work on the next one.”
After a three-touchdown, two-interception performance in Week 1, Cousins tossed another three touchdowns but not before some more adversity. Los Angeles intercepted the 15-year pro on the first Raiders’ possession of the day.
However by halftime, Cousins was well on his way to a bigger game than his season opener. After throwing for 161 yards in the opener against the Dolphins, he hurled the football for 158 yards through the first half of this one.
“He’s been phenomenal,” Kubiak said. “With the operation, with the leadership. Can’t say enough great things about No. 8.”
Receiver Tre Tucker caught a 13-yard pass from Cousins in the second quarter then followed it up with a 40-yard touchdown reception from the veteran. Later in the first half, he added another 42-yard catch to his stat line as he finished with five receptions for 119 yards and a touchdown.
"[The] quarterback did a great job pushing the ball down the field,” Kubiak said. “Our playmakers [like] Tre made some big plays. It’s something you’re always trying to do every weekend, sometimes it’s there and sometimes it's not.”
Fellow receiver Cody White had a career-day with 24 yards on two receptions with both going for touchdowns. Through the first four seasons of his career, he tallied just one touchdown.
“He’s just the same guy that I’ve known since last year,” Kubiak said. “That can be said about a lot of players but when your number is called and you’re making plays, it obviously makes us have to make decisions.”
Cousins threw for 253 yards and three touchdowns in the win on 19-of-29 through the air to go along with an interception.
“I thought it was a lot of good, clean football,” he said. “You’re always going to have some plays that are going to have to be tighter.”
Rookie defensive back Hezekiah Masses recorded his first career interception in the first quarter. That makes it back-to-back weeks with an interception by a Raiders’ rookie.
Masses snagged a second interception just before the end of regulation to ice the win. With that, he became the first Las Vegas rookie with two interceptions in the same game since Henry Williams did it back in 1979.
“Incredible start for him,” Kubiak said. “Really proud of how his teammates supported him because the ball doesn’t get into his hands without great pass rush and great coverage. Really proud of Zeke.”
Chargers’ quarterback Justin Herbert fumbled on the home team’s first drive of the second half but managed to recover the loose ball. He’d toss a 10-yard touchdown pass immediately after to give LA its first lead of the game.
On the following drive for the Chargers, they endured another fumble but recovered it for a second time. Raiders’ defensive back Eric Stokes forced a third fumble early in the fourth quarter only to have the ball bounce out of bounds.
In total, Los Angeles fumbled six times with Las Vegas mustering one recovery. Defensive end Malcolm Koonce sacked Herbert and jarred the ball loose again but possession remained the same. Koonce recorded one and a half of the team’s three sacks.
That lone recovery came on a forced fumble by linebacker Nakobe Dean which safety Jeremy Chinn recovered and returned for 43 yards. The turnover plus the return put the offense at the Chargers’ 16-yard line, setting up White’s second touchdown grab of the night.
“Short memory,” Kubiak said. “That’s what we preach all the time and it’s unacceptable what happened before that. We’ve got to get that junk fixed.”
Another form of icing on the cake for this Raider defense was it securing a safety on its final possession of the game.
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