How do you know a season has truly gone awry for the Las Vegas Raiders?
When even special teams flounders. Such was the case during a disastrous 2025 campaign.
Naturally, when the Klint Kubiak era of the Silver & Black descended upon us, my curiosity piqued at the new head coach’s eventual special teams coordinator hire and how the Raiders would reverse course in 2026.
And after one game into the new campaign, there’s most definitely encouraging signs.
New special teams boss Joe DeCamillis had the Silver
& Black returning to form in the return, kick, and punt game and while the coverage units have areas of opportunity, a pure-hustle play by recently signed wide receiver Cody White to run down and stymie a would-be kick return touchdown, saved the day in Las Vegas’ impressive 27-13 Week 1 win over the Miami Dolphins this past Sunday.
Game Ball Worthy
Sometimes, a team’s late-addition to the backend of the roster can make a significant impact.
Such is the case for White, a wideout by trade but more of a special teamer, who signed to the Raiders practice squad back on August 31. A gameday practice squad elevation — alongside tight end Chris Myarick the day before the Week 1 opener — the 6-foot-3 and 227-pound undrafted free agent out of Michigan State is another Seattle Seahawks import, alongside fellow wide receiver and special teamer Dareke Young.
And what a fortuitous decision to bring the 27-year-old from the taxi squad and active against the Dolphins as he showcased true grit on a Raiders kickoff coverage miscue as Miami running back Jaylen Wright made people whiff on a would-be touchdown return. Instead, White ran down Wright and limited the speedy return man to just a 79-yard return.
Instead of becoming a 27-20 ball game, Las Vegas defense stood its ground and all Miami got out of the drive was negative five yards on four plays and a missed field goal.
Lane discipline is an area of opportunity for DeCamillis’ units as the Raiders embark on the rest of the 2026 campaign, but watching a bigger receiver who clocked a 4.66-second 40-yard dash run down a tailback that ran a 4.38 40 was impressive.
Net Returns
Speaking of lane discipline, that was one of the call outs Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley had when asked about the team’s kick and punt return woes against Las Vegas in the season opener.
A pair of Raiders took advantage of this providing the Silver & Black solid field position for Kubiak’s offense in running back Dylan Laube and rookie wide receiver Malik Benson.
Benson’s 23-yard punt return after Las Vegas defense forced Miami to put during its second drive slashed the Dolphins 59-yard punt. And nine plays and 38 yards later, the Raiders generated a 10-0 advantage. Then, it was Laube’s turn to dazzle after Miami responded with a field goal of its own to make it 10-3 in the second quarter.
The reserve running back and core special teamer sprinted 45 yards on the ensuing kick off which put Kubiak’s offense in prime position to operate and seven plays and 54 yards later, quarterback Kirk Cousins found running back Ashton Jeanty for a 13-yard touchdown, 17-3 Raiders.
Laube wasn’t done as he ripped a 50-yard kick return on Las Vegas’ second possession of the second half helping the team respond to Miami’s touchdown drive that cut the lead to 17-13. In an interesting coincidence, Laube’s big return also netted a Raiders touchdown — another 13-yard touchdown reception by Jeanty from Cousins.
In total, Laube generated 95 yards on his pair of kick returns while Benson posted 35 yards on his two punt returns. Continuing to get this kind of production — alongside a return for touchdown at some point — helps bolster Kubiak’s Raiders in what’s expected to be a grueling 2026 slate of games.
Boom-bastic
When FOX Sports analyst Mark Schlereth openly calls AJ Cole III the best punter in the NFL, it’s hard to argue.
The 30-year-old that stands 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds uses every bit of his angular frame as he produced an absurd state line in Sunday’s win: Three punts for 190 yards with a long of 72 yards. After one game in the books, Cole stands atop the league punting mountain with his 63.3 yards per punt average (the Kansas City Chief’s Matt Araiza and Buffalo Bills’ Tommy Doman are tied for second at 54.5 yards per boot).
Whether it’s power, direction, touch, and hang time, Cole put on a show. And Las Vegas is likely set to rely on their elite punter to flip the field this season — despite getting the call only three times in the opener. His kicking battery mate — veteran kicker Matt Gay — drilled both of his field goal opportunities with the longest boot a 47-yarder.
In between the Raiders punter and kicker duo is longsnapper Alex Ward who showcased accurate zip on his snaps which Cole is the recipient — as both punter and holder on Gay’s field goals. Sunday’s broadcast featured an illegal snap by Ward, but that appeared to be done on purpose to give Cole more room to boom and the Raiders punter and coverage units responded by pinning Miami’s offense deep downing the 55-yard punt on the Dolphins one-yard line.
Quote of Note:
“Dylan’s a hard worker, Dylan’s intelligent, football is important to him, little things are important to him, and that showed up in the return unit game, and then when he played on offense. So, I think it’s great for anyone that’s in a special teams role that’s maybe playing a backup position, but they know they can affect the game on teams, and that’s what he did for us yesterday.”
—Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak on running back and special teamer Dylan Laube this past Monday
Point After
If you’re curious why I have an affinty for special teams, this is a major reason why:
