Jeanty leads Raiders to victory over hapless Dolphins

Though only one of Las Vegas’ offensive trio of the future was to feature in this game, it felt like today signalled the start of a new era for the Raiders. Brock Bowers missed the game with a knee injury and Fernando Mendoza sat, as he continues to develop under the tutelage and mentorship of Kirk Cousins.

But that didn’t stop Ashton Jeanty from doing his thing and taking over the game, contributing heavily to Klint Kubiak’s first win as head coach. They weren’t met by formidable opposition whatsoever, with the Miami Dolphins’ performance simply confirming what we already knew about them.

The first 10 points of the game went the way of the Raiders on their first 2 drives, including the first career touchdown for Jack Bech to open the scoring, with the veteran Cousins looking well assured in his new role.

The Dolphins’ offense featured a predictably heavy dose of De’Von Achane early on, but not for much sucess, as they didn’t put points on the board until Ryley Patterson slotting a field goal with 4:12 remaining in the 2nd quarter. Malik Willis had no choice but to start diversify his targets, unlocking the debutant Clayton Douglas for a few impressive catches.

Patterson knocked in his 2nd field goal on the stroke of half time, but not before Jeanty had worked in tandem with rookie back Mike Washington Jr. to move the chains en route to a touchdown, giving Vegas a 17-6 lead at the main interchange.

What the Dolphins lacked in defensive quality, they made up for with effort, as rookie safety Michael Taaffe picked off Cousins, setting up the offense to take advantage and work their way back in the game. They did just that, with Willis taking it in himself, cutting the deficit to just 4 points.

Miami’s glimmer of hope quickly dissipated, as Jeanty secured his 2nd receiving touchdown of the game just 166 seconds of game time later, restoring the Raiders’ double digit lead.

The game lacked lustre from there on out. Miami’s offense ran out of gas and didn’t trouble the scorers for the remainder of the afternoon, meaning a 30-yard Matt Gay field goal late in the 3rd quarter was enough to secure a 27-13 win for Las Vegas.

Though a win against the NFL’s weakest roster should not be overestimated, it’s clear that Kubiak has arrived in Vegas to build a winning culture from the outset, and there’s no better way to do that than actually winning football games. They’ll face a tougher task against the divisional rival Chargers next week, but in potentially regaining Bowers, will be better off for today’s effort.

It seems the only way Miami are going to compete with anyone this season is if Achane has superstar-level performance, which he certainly didn’t today. The Dolphins certainly won’t be one to watch for neutral observers this year, but their front office will hope for nothing more than the emergence of their young talent into becoming core pieces of their next contending roster.

Touchdowns
Miami: Willis
Las Vegas: Jeanty 2, Bech

Top Performers
Miami: Douglas, Trader Jr., Taaffe
Las Vegas: Jeanty, Paye, Stukes, Crosby, Dean

Injuries
Miami: Louis (knee)
Las Vegas: Porter (foot)

Crowd: 62,541 at Allegiant Stadium