A Las Vegas Raiders vs New Orleans Saints matchup doesn’t come around often on the regular slate – these two live in separate conferences, and the rotation usually keeps them apart for years at a stretch. Today, September 27, 2026, is one of those rare Sundays, with both sides meeting at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
The Raiders arrive unbeaten and full of confidence under a first-year head coach who knows this building well. The Saints are hosting their home opener, still finding their footing after a wild Week 1. Calling New Orleans Saints vs Las Vegas Raiders a “rivalry” is a stretch too – 16 meetings since 1971 – but the two sides have a history of trading haymakers whenever they do line up.
Here’s what matters going in: where each team stands right now, how this series has played out since the 1970s, a look back at their last meeting, how to catch today’s game, and a few FAQs to close things out.
Las Vegas Raiders: A Fresh Foundation Under Klint Kubiak
Las Vegas isn’t rebuilding from the ground up this time – it’s retooling with a coach who just won a title somewhere else. GM John Spytek and new head coach Klint Kubiak, hired away after helping call plays for a Super Bowl winner in Seattle last season, have leaned on a simple formula through two weeks: control the ball, lean on the defense, and let Kirk Cousins manage the game.
Kubiak actually has New Orleans ties of his own – he spent the 2024 season as the Saints’ offensive coordinator before moving to Seattle in 2025. Today marks his first trip back to the building where his last NFL stop before Las Vegas began.
What Makes Las Vegas’s Team Tick
- A defense that hasn’t allowed more than 14 points in either game so far
- Maxx Crosby setting the tone off the edge, with the pass rush getting home early and often
- Brock Bowers as the safety valve underneath, even while working through a questionable tag on the injury report
- Ashton Jeanty grinding out yards on early downs behind an offensive line that’s holding up
Las Vegas Raiders Snapshot
| Detail | |
| Division | AFC West |
| Franchise QB | Kirk Cousins (with rookie Fernando Mendoza in the mix) |
| Head coach | Klint Kubiak (1st season) |
| GM | John Spytek |
| Identity | Defense-first, ball-control offense |
| Recent form | 3-14 in 2025, complete coaching and front-office overhaul |
| 2026 season start | 2-0 after wins over Miami (27-13) and at the LA Chargers (26-14) |
The Raiders opened at home against Miami and controlled it from the jump, then went on the road and knocked off the Chargers 26-14 in Week 2. Two weeks in, this Las Vegas Raiders vs New Orleans Saints trip is their first true road test outside the AFC West, and so far the defense has been the story – allowing 14 points or fewer in both games.
New Orleans Saints: Kellen Moore’s Team Finding Its Rhythm
New Orleans isn’t hiding from where it’s at either – fourth in the NFC South a year ago, and now leaning hard on second-year quarterback Tyler Shough to be the answer under center. Kellen Moore, in his own early stretch as head coach, has built an offense around getting Shough comfortable fast, and it’s shown – his 662 passing yards through two games is the best start for a Saints quarterback since Drew Brees back in 2009.
What Makes New Orleans’s Team Tick
- Tyler Shough spreading the ball around behind one of the league’s more balanced offenses through two weeks
- Chris Olave and Juwan Johnson giving Shough two reliable targets to lean on
- A defense anchored by Pete Werner and newly acquired edge rusher Tyree Wilson
- A yards-per-game number – 383.5 – that ranks 7th in the league early on
New Orleans Saints Snapshot
| Detail | |
| Division | NFC South |
| Franchise QB | Tyler Shough (since 2025) |
| Head coach | Kellen Moore |
| GM | Mickey Loomis |
| Identity | Pass-first offense building around a young quarterback |
| Recent form | 6-11 in 2025 |
| 2026 season start | 1-1 after an OT loss to Detroit (30-31) and a win at Baltimore (24-17) |
New Orleans nearly stole its opener, falling to Detroit 30-31 in overtime, before bouncing back with a 24-17 road win over Baltimore as +8.5 underdogs. Today’s game is the Saints’ home opener at the Superdome, and it comes with a personal subplot – Kubiak walking back into the building where he coached just two seasons ago.
NFL Schedule This Week (Week 3, 2026)
Kickoff for today’s Raiders vs Saints game is set for 3:25 p.m. CT / 1:25 p.m. PT at Caesars Superdome, with CBS carrying the national broadcast.
| Team | Next Matchup | Date | Location |
| Las Vegas Raiders | vs Kansas City Chiefs | Sun, Oct 4 | Home |
| New Orleans Saints | vs Atlanta Falcons | Mon, Oct 5 | Home |
Both teams stay home next week, with Las Vegas hosting a divisional test against Kansas City and New Orleans opening a Monday night slate against Atlanta.
Head-to-Head History: The Full Timeline
This series stretches back to 1971, when both franchises were still finding their footing in the league. It’s been remarkably even ever since – swinging back and forth by era, with Las Vegas holding the narrowest of edges heading into today.
| Date | Winner | Location | Score | Notes |
| 12/29/2024 | Raiders | Home | 25-10 | Most recent meeting |
| 10/30/2022 | Saints | Home | 24-0 | Raiders’ only shutout loss in the series |
| 09/21/2020 | Raiders | Away | 34-24 | First-ever NFL game in Las Vegas |
| 09/11/2016 | Raiders | Away | 35-34 | Two-point conversion wins it late |
| 11/18/2012 | Saints | Away | 38-17 | Brees throws for 219 yards, 3 TD |
| 12/03/2008 | Saints | Home | 34-3 | Lopsided Saints win |
| 09/2004 | Saints | Away | 31-26 | Tight divisional-style battle |
| 11/2000 | Raiders | Home | 31-22 | Jeff Blake’s foot injury opens Aaron Brooks era |
| 1997 | Saints | Away | 13-10 | Defensive grind in Oakland |
| 11/20/1994 | Raiders | Away | 24-19 | Los Angeles Raiders era |
| 12/16/1991 | Saints | Home | 27-0 | Saints’ only shutout win in the series |
| 10/23/1988 | Saints | Home | 20-6 | Saints’ first-ever win in the series |
| 10/13/1985 | Raiders | Away | 23-13 | Los Angeles Raiders win |
| 12/03/1979 | Raiders | Home | 42-35 | High-scoring MNF classic |
| 11/09/1975 | Raiders | Away | 48-10 | Largest margin in series history (38 pts) |
| 11/07/1971 | – | Home | 21-21 | First-ever meeting, ends in a tie |
Las Vegas Raiders lead the all-time series 8-7-1.
A Few Things Worth Pointing Out
- Zero playoff meetings between these two – not once, across 16 games and over 50 years
- New Orleans’s best run was three straight wins, spanning 2004 to 2012
- Las Vegas has now won two straight, including the last meeting in 2024
- The 1975 game is still the most lopsided result either side has produced in this series
- New Orleans hasn’t beaten Las Vegas since that 2022 shutout at home
Three Eras of the Rivalry
Break it down and this series really falls into three distinct stretches.
Era 1: The Early Years (1971-1985) Mostly a coin flip, with a tie to open things and the Raiders franchise – then in Oakland and Los Angeles – taking three of the next four meetings, including that lopsided 48-10 win in 1975.
Era 2: The Saints Era Takes Shape (1988-2012) Once New Orleans got its first win in 1988, the tables turned. The Saints won four of six meetings in this stretch, including a shutout in 1991 and a 34-3 blowout in 2008.
Era 3: The Modern Matchups (2016-Present) The good stuff. A 2016 shootout decided by a late two-point conversion, the historic first Vegas game in 2020, a Saints shutout in 2022, and the Raiders’ most recent 25-10 statement win in 2024. Today just adds to this chapter, with Las Vegas looking to make it three straight.
The Last Time These Two Teams Met: Raiders 25, Saints 10 (Dec. 29, 2024)
With today’s game still to be decided, the last actual meeting between these two is the best snapshot we’ve got – and it went the Raiders’ way comfortably in Las Vegas.
New Orleans came in already eliminated from playoff contention and never found an answer for a Raiders defense that controlled the game from the second quarter on. Las Vegas leaned on its ground game and a steady dose of underneath throws to keep the Saints offense off rhythm most of the afternoon, and a New Orleans Saints vs Las Vegas Raiders rematch has been circled by both fan bases ever since.
That loss capped a rough finish to New Orleans’s 2024 season, while it gave Las Vegas a rare high note in an otherwise difficult year under the previous coaching staff. It’s also the last time these franchises have shared a field, until today.
Where Both Teams Stand Entering Today’s Game
Two weeks in, and this one looks tighter on paper than the records might suggest. Las Vegas is unbeaten but has needed its defense to bail out a middling offense; New Orleans has been more explosive through the air but hasn’t found the same defensive consistency.
| Stat | Las Vegas Raiders | New Orleans Saints |
| Points Per Game | 26.5 | 27.0 |
| Yards Per Game | 297.5 | 383.5 |
| Time of Possession | 31:18 | 32:10 |
| Total Defensive Sacks | 8 | 4 |
| Turnover Differential | +2 | -1 |
Cousins and the Raiders have been opportunistic – that +2 turnover mark and league-leading 8 sacks have papered over an offense that ranks just 20th in yardage. Shough’s numbers have been the better story on paper, but New Orleans’s minus-1 turnover differential is the kind of thing that can turn a shootout the wrong way in a building as loud as the Superdome.
Coaching Matchup: Kubiak vs. Moore
Neither of these coaches has faced the other before, and it’s a matchup of two staffs still writing their first chapters, just from very different starting points.
Kubiak walks in fresh off a Super Bowl ring as Seattle’s offensive coordinator, now steering his own program for the first time – and doing it, fittingly, in the building where his last head-coaching-adjacent job began.
Moore is building something of his own around a young quarterback, leaning on aggressive play-calling to squeeze the most out of Shough’s arm early in the season.
| Factor | Las Vegas (Kubiak) | New Orleans (Moore) |
| Experience level | 1st season as head coach | 2nd season as head coach |
| Offensive identity | Ball control, defense-first | Pass-heavy, built around Shough |
| Program status | New staff, early buy-in | Developing around a young QB |
At the end of the day, this tells you more about where each franchise sits right now than it does about Xs and Os – a new-look Raiders team defending an unbeaten start against a Saints team trying to build real momentum at home.
Betting Angle: What the Odds Say
The line on this one has stayed close all week. New Orleans opened as a slight home favorite, with the number sitting around Saints -3 and the total near 44.5 heading into kickoff – a reflection of how competitive this series has stayed no matter the era.
That number leans more on home-field advantage and New Orleans’s offensive output than the head-to-head history – the Raiders are the ones unbeaten, but the Saints have been the more explosive team through two weeks. One extra wrinkle worth mentioning: Kubiak’s return to New Orleans, less than two years after leaving as the Saints’ own offensive coordinator, gives this particular Las Vegas Raiders vs New Orleans Saints meeting a little extra intrigue beyond the numbers.
Where to Watch NFL Games Raiders & Saints
- National broadcast: CBS has today’s game at 3:25 p.m. CT / 1:25 p.m. PT
- Streaming: Paramount+ and NFL+ carry it live for the out-of-market crowd
- Location: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
- Las Vegas’s local coverage: KOMP 92.3FM / Raider Nation Radio 920AM
- New Orleans’s local coverage: WWL 105.3 FM / 870 AM
Given the rarity of these matchups, this probably isn’t a game you’ll see again for a while – regular-season crossovers between these two are few and far between.
What’s Next for Both Teams
Las Vegas is chasing its first winning season in years and trying to prove that a defense-led start can carry into a tougher stretch of the schedule. That group – Cousins, Crosby, and a defense playing above its billing – heads home next to host Kansas City in a big AFC West measuring stick.
New Orleans has its own early goals: build off a competitive Week 1 and a road win in Week 2 to show this rebuild around Shough has real legs. Next up is a home date with Atlanta on Monday night, with the Saints looking to string together their first multi-game winning streak of the Kellen Moore era.
Check Other Stats: Denver Broncos vs Los Angeles Rams | Jacksonville Jaguars vs New England Patriots
Quick FAQs
Las Vegas, by the narrowest of margins – the Raiders hold an 8-7-1 edge across 16 all-time meetings.
No. All 16 meetings between the two franchises have come in the regular season.
December 29, 2024, when the Raiders beat the Saints 25-10 in Las Vegas.
October 30, 2022, a 24-0 shutout at the Superdome.
Different conferences and the NFL’s scheduling rotation mean these two franchises typically meet only once every few years.
Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, with kickoff at 3:25 p.m. CT on CBS.
Klint Kubiak returning to New Orleans as an opposing head coach less than two years after leaving as the Saints’ offensive coordinator.
Cousins, by experience – a longtime NFL starter now leading a new-look Raiders team. Shough is still early in his career but off to a hot start.
Source: ESPN
