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Four takeaways become 'catalyst' for Raiders' second-half surge against Saints

The Las Vegas Raiders could've easily folded.

Late into the third quarter, Saints quarterback Tyler Shough connected with tight end Noah Fant for a 16-yard touchdown. It was his fourth touchdown pass of the day, dicing up the Raiders defense for the majority of the game.

The Saints took a 27-16 lead, the largest deficit the Raiders have endured through three games.

Was there any panic?

"It's a four-quarter game," Klint Kubiak said. "You just keep playing. Our guys kept playing."

In a hostile environment for the Saints' home opener, the Raiders had an opportunity to showcase how they play in the face of adversity.

One play at a time, one turnover at a time, the defense chipped away.

The Raiders entered the fourth quarter down five points after a 36-yard touchdown run by rookie Mike Washington Jr., but the defense still had work to do.

The Raiders nabbed their first turnover on the day with a little over 13 minutes left in regulation. Malcolm Koonce came off the blind side to tip the ball while Shough was in throwing motion. Maxx Crosby recovered the football, setting up a touchdown drive to retake the lead.

"When I hit him, I saw the ball come up," Koonce said. "I thought the ball was going forward so I just assumed it was a strip sack."

"It was very rewarding," he added. "We knew whole time [in] the second half, we knew the defense was going to have to show up."

The Saints next drive? Another turnover.

Fresh off his strip sack, Koonce pressured Shough into under throwing his target. Rookie Hezekiah Masses was in perfect place for the interception. It was his third career pick after catching two last week which led to an AFC Defensive Player of the Week honor.

Once again, the turnover set up a touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins to Brock Bowers and the Raiders took an eight-point lead.

"The pass rush and that relentlessness, it really matters," Cousins said. "They just did a phenomenal job. These are great plays by Nakobe [Dean] and whoever else is making them. It's just awesome plays. Boy, it really pushed the wind at our back as an offense."

As the Saints fought to tie the game, the Raiders defense kept its foot on the gas.

Marching into the red zone near the two-minute mark, the Saints went for it on fourth down. Las Vegas sent an all-out blitz and safety Jeremy Chinn got home for another strip sack on Shough. Taron Johnson pounced on the loose ball.

The Saints had one last chance, but Tonka Hemingway seemingly sealed the game with an interception off a tipped pass. However, the turnover was negated by an illegal contact penalty on Chinn.

Any frustration from the erased interception was short-lived. Nakobe Dean forced a fumble on tight end Juwan Johnson, who had two touchdowns on the day. The play was reminiscent of Dean's game-sealing forced fumble on Omarion Hampton just a week ago in Los Angeles.

"We knew we had to rally back, we had to start back playing our type of football," Dean said. "And that's our style of play, taking the ball away. We got a goal every week, 'How many takeaways are we going to get?' We had none in the first half, so we had to come back in the second half strong."

"He's a heartbeat of our defense," Kubiak said of Dean. "We're counting on him every week. The other guys thrive off of his maturity, number one, and his play style, number two."

Dean's college teammate Eric Stokes recovered the ball, sealing the win and improving the Raiders to 3-0 for the first time since 2021.

"I just want to give a big shoutout to our defense," Kubiak said after the win. "Four takeaways in the second half was the catalyst to the game. So proud of them and all the guys fighting to the end."

Three games in, the Raiders defense has shown it belongs among the NFL's better units.

The Silver and Black have forced multiple turnovers in three straight games to start a season for the first time since 2007. And their nine takeaways this season are their most through a three-game stretch since 2002.

Wth their dominant fourth-quarter showing in New Orleans, they haven't allowed any points in the fourth quarter through three games, tied for their longest streak to start a season in franchise history (1981, 1982).

"It's a credit to everybody, everyone involved," Crosby said. "It starts with Robbie [Leonard], he trusts us and as a group ... we emphasize every single day in practice and in the building, which is taking the ball away."

"We have a great group of guys that loves playing football, together" Crosby added. "We practice together, we eat together, we talk all the time together. In those big moments, there's no panic."

View photos from the Raiders' regular season Week 3 matchup against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome.

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