Klint Kubiak versus Steve Spaguolo. Andy Reid versus Rob Leonard.
That set of coaching battles highlight’s the Week 4 clash between the host Las Vegas Raiders and visiting Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday inside Allegiant Stadium. Kubiak and Reid, the pair of head coaches who are also the primary offensive play callers for their respective Raiders and Chiefs will match wits with their defensive counterparts in Leonard and Spagnuolo.
What a sight that will be.
Both longtime AFC West foes are atop the division
with twin 3-0 records and after Sunday’s tilt, only one will reign as the top team. (Unless, of course, they end up in a tie ballgame).
Not only are the overall records identical, but how many points Las Vegas and Kansas City scored and allowed in the initial three games of the 2026 season are nearly similar with the Chiefs dropping 88 points while limiting opponents to 50. Flip to the Raiders and it’s also 88 points scored while yielding 54. Kansas City is 2-0 at home and 1-0 on the road and it’s the opposite for Las Vegas as the team is 2-0 away from Allegiant Stadium and 1-0 in the home venue.
Interestingly enough, hearing how the respective coaching staffs speak about one another is … identical. Be it a Raiders or Chiefs coach, the words “aggressive” and “fast” are spoken with respect — be it the offense, defense, or even special teams.
Listen to Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy describe the Raiders:
Here’s what Raiders offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko said when asked about what it’s like preparing for the Chiefs defense: “They’re, like I said before, an unbelievably well-coached team that plays fast. They’re very aggressive. They have great players, so it’s a tremendous challenge for us going forward.”
While Kansas City struggled mightily in 2025 with a 6-11 overall record and Reid’s first losing season after 12 consecutive years of winning records — including a trio of Super Bowl victories — the reloaded and retooled Chiefs have rebounded well. And Kubiak isn’t one to harp on the 2025 campaign considering the impressive history that preceded what appears to be an anomaly of a year.
“Yeah, every year, I’d say they’re the best coached unit in the league. It shows on tape,” Las Vegas rookie head coach said of the Chiefs defense.
Janocko, who doesn’t call the plays but is one of Kubiak’s most trusted assistants and helps develop the offense, made no bones about Spagnuolo’s group.
“He’s been doing it for a long time, and he’s been doing stuff really well for a long time,” the Raiders offensive coordinator said. “That group’s been together. They’re cohesive. They’re unbelievably well coached. Everybody knows how to do what they ask to do and do it at a fast-paced level. It’s a tremendous challenge for us.”
For the Silver & Black to continue it’s turnaround this season, playing well against and defeating a team like the Chiefs helps further cement the culture change occurring in the desert. Spagnuolo has the experience and players to stymie Kubiak’s offense. The defensive boss is keen on making opponents one dimensional and Spags seeks to make the Raiders’ run game moot while also looking to either take away or limit elite tight end Brock Bowers. The Chiefs defensive mastermind is adept at using simulated pressures with heavy blitz looks and either bringing the pain or dropping back into coverage.
And he’s got the talent at all three levels of the defense to do so.
Kubiak, who has held a variety of positions during his coaching career before landing the head coach gig in Las Vegas, hasn’t beaten a Spagnuolo-orchestrated defense in his various capacities and stops:
- Chiefs 26, New Orleans Saints 13 (October 7, 2024): Kubiak was the Saints offensive coordinator.
- Chiefs 25, San Francisco 49ers 22 (Super Bowl, February 11, 2024): Kubiak was the 49ers pass game coordinator.
- Chiefs 27, Denver Broncos 24 (January 1, 2023): Kubiak was the Broncos pass game coordinator.
- Chiefs 34, Broncos 28 (December 11, 2022): Kubiak was the Broncos pass game coordinator.
Flip the coin over to Leonard’s Raiders defense against Reid’s offense and it’s a similar neophyte versus grizzled veteran. Now, don’t get me wrong, Leonard is no stranger to Reid having been on Las Vegas staff since the 2023 season (brought on as defensive line coach) before his elevation to defensive coordinator this past offseason by Kubiak. Which makes Leonard’s comments on the Chiefs offense not surprising.
“Pick your poison. 15 (quarterback Patrick Mahomes), 87 (tight end Travis Kelce), 9 (running back Kenneth Walker III), I mean, there’s a lot going,” Leonard said. “When you have good players, it’s hard to take them all away. He’s been a really good player for a long time, and his connection with Mahomes is so obvious I think to everybody, and he’s a great player.”
Like his counterpart on the opposite sideline, Leonard has deployed some devious defense for the Raiders thus far using simulated pressures, showing heavy blitz, before having his defensive tackles drop back in coverage to confuse quarterbacks.
That said, secure wrap-up tackling alongside playing fast, loose, aggressive, and attacking the football — something that Las Vegas is doing remarkably well with a league-leading nine takeaways — will be quite the balancing act against a well-coaching and experienced Chiefs offense conducted by Reid.
“Yeah, don’t play stupid. You know what I mean?,” Leonard said describing balancing freedom and playing disciplined football. “Like there’s a difference of playing with your hair on fire and playing the game between the whistle and doing things the right way. You just focus on doing things the right way. And I think that starts with Klint. He’s done an outstanding job of that, and our guys have responded. And it’s easy for me, I just echo the message of the head coach.”
Despite having success against Kubiak historically, this is no cake walk for Spagnuolo and his Chiefs defense combating the Raiders’ offense.
Despite struggling at times to get traction in the run game, Kubiak isn’t shying away from giving his running backs totes and there’s a solid balance in ground and pound and aerial attack. And Las Vegas has a veteran quarterback of their own in Kirk Cousins that’s playing lights out in the first three games with a league-leading nine passing touchdowns.
“Yeah, big challenge. I’ve been down this road before. Kirk’s one of these quarterbacks I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for. He’s been doing it for a long time. I think he’s a quality guy. Every time I see him, I tell him how much I respect his character,” Spagnuolo said when asked about Cousins on Thursday. “That part is great, but the part on the football field, he gets the ball out so quick that he makes it really difficult. I think the knocking down of passes will be really important. The sticky coverage and making him throw it into tight windows will be really big.
“When we do that, we need a couple of knockdowns by a corner or a safety to get him in a longer down the distance or get us off the field. We’ll have to mix it up, but I think you’ve got to be a little bit careful with a guy that’s as smart as Kirk is.”
In nine matchups where Cousins faced a Spagnuolo defense, the signal caller has come out with just three wins and six losses.
We’ll see what Cousins’ and Kubiak’s overall mark against Spags is, Sunday afternoon.
