The Buffalo Bills are set to take on the Las Vegas Raiders for just the second time in their history in the state of Nevada. In the first matchup between these two teams in Las Vegas, the Bills beat the Raiders 30-23 in an empty Allegiant Stadium thanks to COVID regulations in place for the 2020 season.
The stadium will be far from empty come Sunday, as the Bills will face a resurgent Raiders squad that’s off to a better start than anticipated. The team won its first three games this season before
dropping contests to the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots in consecutive weeks. Can the Bills make it a three-game losing streak for the Raiders?
There will be plenty of factors leading towards Buffalo’s ultimate success or failure in that endeavor, but one thing is certain: The Bills would love to enter their bye week at 5-1. Here are five players to watch this week as they attempt to attain that goal.
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James Cook III
At the risk of beating a proverbial dead horse, this is a big week for Cook given his case of fumblitis he’s developed over the last 23 games. Cook has nearly as many fumbles (4) as he does touchdowns (5) this season, and he’s averaging a fumble on every 44 touches since the start of the 2025 regular season. When asked earlier this week, head coach Joe Brady said that, eventually, Cook needs to start protecting the football if he expects to play the snap share and maintain the carry share that he has over the last calendar year. Cook is obviously a dynamic runner—he’s averaging 5.6 yards per carry and already has 15 rushing attempts of ten yards or more this season—but his turnover rate is a tremendous concern. Will the fumbles be in his head? The Raiders will clearly have scouting information about the success of “Peanut Punches” on Cook, so they’ll likely be ripping and punching at the ball every time he touches it. Another thing I’m interested in watching is what happens to Cook if he does put the ball on the ground again. Will Brady follow through on his threat to limit Cook’s touches and snaps if it happens?
TE Dalton Kincaid
Where is he? Obviously, opposing teams are going to bracket him, especially if wideout DJ Moore isn’t on the field. That’s a pretty common tactic for any defense against any opposing player’s best receiving option. My concern is just how easily Buffalo, and Kincaid, allow their top receiver to be removed from the game. Joe Brady has to scheme some easy-button targets for Kincaid early to give him some rhythm and flow for the game. Just look at how badly the Buffalo passing attack struggled last week against the Los Angeles Rams in the early moments of the game as an example. It will help quarterback Josh Allen to settle into the contest if he can find some easy completions early. Kincaid is his best option. The Bills can’t let him be entirely erased like he has been for the last two games.
DL T.J. Sanders
The big fella made his presence felt in his 2026 season debut, and it’s pretty clear that the coaching staff views him as an important part of the defensive line rotation given his heavy usage. Sanders played on 51 snaps last week, trailing only Deone Walker (63) in playing time among Buffalo defensive linemen. Sanders rewarded the coaches by notching five tackles, adding a sack to thwart a two-point conversion attempt that might not appear on the stat record, but it does go down as an absolutely massive play in the game. Sanders looked strong, quick, elusive—all the things the Bills wanted from him when they traded up to select him at No. 41 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft. With Ed Oliver likely sitting again this week, expect a heavy dose of Sanders again against the Raiders.
Inside Linebackers
My goodness, can somebody just make a play? Dorian Williams looks fine on run downs and lost on passing plays. Terrel Bernard is a step slow and constantly involved in some sort of communication snafu with safeties and slot corners in coverage. I know that the coaching staff has said repeatedly that the linebackers are playing their assignments, but there’s no way that Brady and defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard can watch the games and the film, and then still say that the middle level of the defense is performing well. The Bills were absolutely smoked in the intermediate levels last week, and while we could point at Puka Nacua and his incredible ability as a reason for that, the assignment isn’t easier this week. Tight end Brock Bowers is a stud, and fellow tight end Michael Mayer isn’t a slouch, either. One of Buffalo’s two veteran ILBs needs to start doing something on the field, or else they’re likely going to start watching someone like rookie Kaleb Elarms-Orr take their place.
CB Dee Alford
Will he play this week? Given that the Bills released Anthony Kendall, who was signed from the practice squad and manned the slot last week, I assume that Alford will be ready to roll this Sunday. Kendall, for what it’s worth, looked no worse than the Bills’ other options in the slot so far this season, so it’s good that the team was able to re-sign him back to the practice squad. Alford started to look more comfortable against the New England Patriots before an ankle injury caused him to miss last week’s matchup. He’s probably have to deal with some big bodies in the aforementioned tight ends this week, but he also may find himself matched up against a speedster in Tre Tucker. He doesn’t operate much from the slot, but it’s a way that the Raiders can manipulate matchups and take Tucker away from someone like Christian Benford this week. If Alford is good to go, it helps Buffalo’s defensive depth. If he can play well on top of it, it will help the defensive unit tremendously.
