Kubiak returns to New Orleans as 2-0 Raiders rule out Aidan O'Connell at Saints

Klint Kubiak walks back into the Caesars Superdome at 4:25 p.m. Eastern with a 2-0 team and a quarterback room down to two arms. The Raiders officially ruled out Aidan O'Connell on Saturday, the Review-Journal's Adam Hill reported, a second straight absence following the death of his father. That leaves rookie top pick Fernando Mendoza as the only quarterback behind Kirk Cousins, and Kubiak has declined to say who holds the emergency quarterback slot.

Brock Bowers is the other open question, and the one that decides what this offense looks like. The tight end is questionable with a knee issue on the final injury report after sitting out Friday, which Kubiak called scheduled rest rather than a setback. "I'm optimistic," he said. If Bowers plays, it arrives less than three weeks after a meniscus trim on his left knee. The Raiders also elevated receiver Cody White from the practice squad for the game.

There is a subplot here. Kubiak ran the Saints offense in 2024, finished 5-12 as injuries piled up, then left for Seattle and won a Super Bowl ring as coordinator there, as the Las Vegas Sun's Case Keefer laid out. Kellen Moore had no reason to keep him. Both men now call plays for a living, and New Orleans is a 3-point favorite.

The ledger cuts both ways. Tyler Shough leads the league in passing yards, and by the Raiders' own count he leads it in completions of at least 20 yards with 11. Las Vegas answers with a secondary missing safety Treydan Stukes, who is out with a concussion. New Orleans has also outscored opponents 31-10 in fourth quarters and overtime, which is the kind of number that turns a manageable afternoon into a loss.

Opinion, freely offered: the Raiders win this by boring everyone. They averaged 34:53 in time of possession through two weeks on just 63.5 offensive plays per game, a possession-hoarding formula that keeps Shough holding a clipboard. Ashton Jeanty has to make that work on the ground, and Las Vegas already runs two tight end sets on 37.8 percent of its snaps, second in the NFL, without Bowers on the field.

Kickoff is 1:25 p.m. Pacific on CBS. The Bowers verdict lands with the inactives about 90 minutes before that, and keep an eye on defensive end Kwity Paye, questionable with an illness, because Maxx Crosby could use the help chasing Shough.