EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ.—The Las Vegas Raiders (4-4) went into the largest media market in the United States, New York, over the weekend and did something that isn’t getting the attention it deserves.

It is the single largest tangible evidence of the Raiders' rebuild, and the flabbergasting fact is that even the legendary fans missed it.

Reality

For over twenty years, the storied franchise continued to sell a fan base unlike any other, one that sees their fandom as a way of life: Raider Nation, the old edict of Al Davis, “Just Win, Baby.”

While they consistently lost, when they had brief success, it was celebrated more out of shock than embraced as a sustainable and tangible reality of a new direction.

That changed last year.

I have documented the collapse of 2025 in detail, and won’t redo that here, but since Mark Davis, Tom Brady, and John Spytek got on the same page about the future, everything has worked.

Kubiak

The patience shown throughout Klint Kubiak's interview and hiring process was admirable; so was the patience in free agency and the thorough deployment of the 2026 NFL Draft, with no panic or turning from the plan.

Entering the season, the Raiders knew they had positions with no players (WR1), multiple spots that were thin (DL & OL), and places where they were very young (DB, WR).

Fans screamed for Spytek to hire someone other than Kubiak, fearing Kubiak would leave the Raiders at the altar. Spytek ignored them.

Some fans clamored for a trade for a WR1 like Marvin Harrison Jr., and Spytek wisely said no.

Some fans and media bemoaned the playing of Kirk Cousins, wanting the No. 1 overall pick, which NFL executives ranked as the best QB prospect in the last four NFL Drafts: Fernando Mendoza; Kubiak ignored them.

The Diagnosis

Today, they still don’t have a WR1; they are still woefully thin at DL and OL, and very young at WR and DB.

Every week, young players are making young-player mistakes. Now, however, the Raiders rookies are being lauded for their contributions.

Today, Cousins ranks second in the NFL in touchdown passes and ranks among the top in passing yards. Fernando Mendoza, every week, looks even more like a star as the spotlight on Cousins has allowed him to blossom and learn what being an NFL QB is, not just playing it.

The Raiders' rookie head coach, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator have all made rookie mistakes, and all have bright, promising futures.

I said every rookie and young player gets a pass in 2025; that disastrous year was on ownership, and that includes GM John Spytek.

This is truly Spytek’s first year.

The wise knew the Raiders' defense was a concern before the year. It still is. So is the run game. This is a rebuilding year; no one is panicked.

Everything we pointed out before the season is true.

Kubiak’s commitment is quickly demonstrated in an unlikely emerging bright spot. After an early-season fumble and a social media attack, Klint Kubiak doubled down, and Dylan Laube is developing into a special-teams superstar, bringing true fear to opponents who must game plan for the unlikely star every week.

The Raiders aren’t making dumb salary cap decisions, trades, or signings, trying to shortcut the process and wager away the last 11 months of real progress.

In a city known for gambling, Tom Brady, Mark Davis, John Spytek, and Klint Kubiak have been as far from that as humanly possible.

Instead, they are acting like insider traders on Wall Street, using their experience to play the odds when they are in their favor.

They have trusted their football acumen. Not afraid to make big moves, they don’t do it to pacify the media or the fans; it has to make sense.

Knowing they couldn’t build a champion in one year, they are playing long-ball and attempting to rebuild the Raiders into a dynasty.

At Newark Airport today, a man said to me, “Ten years from now no one will give a (excrement) that Kirk Cousins was the QB; we aren’t winning a Super Bowl this year. Just throw Mendoza in.”

In the past, sentiments like that would have moved this franchise. I know of things they didn’t want to do, but did.

Now the noise is ignored. Now the only thing that matters at the team’s headquarters is the process and the plan.

The people in charge, Brady, Spytek, and Kubiak, all have Super Bowls.

While I can assure you they all respect Raider Nation, they know another Lombardi Trophy for this franchise is what guides every decision. Does this get us closer to winning another title? Not what will the fans say on Twitter?

If all of this goes as planned, like the last 11 months, that man in the airport is right. No one will remember what Cousins did in comparison to Mendoza. But Mendoza will. The Raiders will, because what he became went back to a seed planted in 2026.

Yesterday Mattered, a Lot

No one is talking about the fact that, in just eight games, the Raiders won their fourth game of the season yesterday. Last year, at rock bottom, they barely won three times in seventeen games.

In a rebuilding year, the Raiders are better. Not only better this year, but also in the long term. In the past, decisions were made for short-term gain, and now Raider Nation is learning that long-term decisions can pay off, too.

Thanks to ownership's patience in trusting football over emotion, a GM who trusted his football acumen and thorough planning, and a head coach who, while understanding the rebuild, forgot he wasn’t supposed to win this year.

The Raiders' fuel right now isn’t a dominant OL or DL, or having the most talent. They are beating the teams they are supposed to beat, and somehow restoring hope in a franchise that, while it has weaknesses everywhere, is still a team.

Down nine points in the third quarter, Kubiak’s infused Silver and Black forgot this is where they implode. They forgot that the DL and OL are thin. They forgot that they didn’t have a WR1, and the WR and DB spots are young.

Dylan Laube forgot the memo that he would never make it, and Klint Kubiak, Andrew Janocko, and Rob Leonard forgot they were first-time coaches in their respective positions, destined to fail. Rookies forgot they were supposed to screw up.

A noise rose from the shadows of East Rutherford; a fan base had bought in. Thousands of people took over MetLife Stadium; the all-familiar "RRRAAAIIIDDDEEERRRSSS" chant roared across the world on TV.

Lying on the canvas, this fan base, this coaching staff, this front office, these owners, and the roster of players just kept getting up. Kept punching and kept fighting.

The Silver and Black channeled something that would have made Al Davis proud; they kept fighting.

When the game ended, the ghost of 2025 was exercised.

All wins count as one; each week is a one-game season, according to Kubiak.

Kubiak is wrong. This one was special. This one was different.

I expect the Raiders to lose the next two, but that won’t be the story. A page was turned on Sunday. They tore off the rearview mirror.

The rookie coaches and players are still rookies; there will be more learning moments, more mistakes, losses, and failures in 2026. They are still thin at multiple spots; they still don’t have a WR1. All of that is true.

But they have a team, a vision, and in just eight games, tangible proof that the people in charge know what they are doing.

If trades happen, it is because they make football sense. If players are playing, it is because they see value, and with nine games left, you know the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t a screaming locomotive coming to kill tomorrow's dreams.

Somewhere ahead are the bright lights of meaningful postseason football.

The plan is working. You saw that on Sunday. Ten years from now, many won’t remember this, but those who are open will.

2026 will tell a lot of stories. Some will be hard and frustrating because growth has pain, but future success has a cost, and the Raiders are paying it now.

A small price to pay.

They all count one, but not yesterday. The Raiders left the baggage of 2025 in Gotham and picked up the roadmap for the future.

The Raiders are already far better than last year, and not even close to what they are becoming. Rebuilding never looked so good. Especially when it takes only eight games for those in charge to prove they know what they are doing.

John Spytek and Klint Kubiak won’t take a victory lap. Are you kidding? They landed early this morning in Las Vegas and went right to work.

That is precisely why you can trust them. Raider Nation, you left the broken dreams, hopes, and failures of the past twenty-plus years here in New Jersey with that win. You leave with hope, not fake hope, not blind fandom, but real, tangible hope.

It took eight games to find it, but it's better than the baggage you were carrying. Now relax, trust, and enjoy the process; it will make it sweeter later.

One day, you will tell your grandchildren about 2026 and how you had a front-row seat to the building of the dynasty. Today's youth will become the next OGs, recalling 2026 as the foundation.

2026 may seem meaningless to an outsider, but Raider Nation knows. Things are different today.Watc

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