Raiders force four fourth-quarter turnovers to beat Saints 35-27 and reach 3-0

The Raiders are 3-0 for the first time since 2021, and the ledger says they got there by robbery. Las Vegas beat the Saints 35-27 at the Caesars Superdome on Sunday after forcing four fourth-quarter turnovers, a run of takeaways that turned an 11-point hole into a road win. The team's own game recap and the Associated Press account agree on the shape of it.

New Orleans led 16-13 at the break and then scored twice in the third quarter, Tyler Shough finding Juwan Johnson and Noah Fant to go up 27-16, according to the Saints' official scoring summary. The Raiders answered with three straight touchdowns and never let the Saints score again: Mike Washington Jr. from 36 yards on the ground, then Kirk Cousins to Cody White and Cousins to Brock Bowers.

The turnovers came in a pile, and the team's breakdown names all of them. Malcolm Koonce strip-sacked Shough and Maxx Crosby fell on it. Rookie cornerback Hezekiah Masses picked Shough off, his third interception in two weeks. Jeremy Chinn knocked the ball loose in the red zone near the two-minute mark, Taron Johnson recovering. Nakobe Dean punched out the last one, gathered up by Eric Stokes. "Four takeaways in the second half was the catalyst to the game," Klint Kubiak said.

Bowers made his season debut after a meniscus procedure and looked like he had not missed anything, catching 10 of 13 targets for 116 yards and the go-ahead score. Cousins went 22 of 33 for 248 yards and three touchdowns, which, as ProFootballTalk noted, makes him the first Raiders quarterback to throw three or more in each of the team's first three games.

An honest audit still finds holes. This defense allowed four touchdown passes and 27 points, and it needed a disputed strip-sack call to swing the game, the kind The Athletic examined afterward and Saints coach Kellen Moore complained about. Takeaways are wonderful. They are also the least reliable revenue stream in football.

The bill arrived in the third quarter, when receiver Jack Bech left with what Kubiak said postgame was a fractured forearm. Silver and Black Pride's Bill Williamson reported that NFL Media has Bech headed for injured reserve with a chance to return this season.

Watch two things this week. Whether Cody White, who has burned all three of his practice-squad elevations, gets promoted to the roster. And Kansas City, also 3-0, visiting Allegiant Stadium on Sunday.