Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins has played with his share of big-time pass catchers throughout his 15-year career.
He’s now connecting with Brock Bowers on a weekly basis, with Bowers catching seven passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday’s 38-33 victory over the Jets.
But even though Bowers is technically a tight end, Cousins related throwing to him to passing to an elite wide receiver.
“I think what’s hard is when you play with Pierre Garçon, DeSean Jackson, or Justin Jefferson, you’re used to throwing to guys who are really open,” Cousins said in his postgame press conference. “There were times, even when they would get doubled and I would progress off of them, and [Vikings head coach] Kevin O’Connell would say to me, ‘Still throw it to Justin when he’s covered.’ I was like, ‘I don’t like throwing to covered guys. I like throwing to open guys.’
“The coaching point with Brock has been like it was with Justin, where it’s like, when he’s covered, you still need to throw it. That kind of breaks my instincts. My instincts are to progress and throw to open guys. I think you can see there are moments this year where I can be better, and then there are moments where I’m starting to figure that out. He’s made me right, if you will.”
That coaching point sure seemed relevant for Cousins’ first touchdown of the game, when Bowers was covered and interfered with, but still managed to catch the ball for a 12-yard score.
Through six games this season, Bowers has 41 receptions for 547 yards with five touchdowns.
Raiders Clips
The Dolphins picked up their first win of the 2026 season against the Jets at MetLife Stadium in Week 7 and the Raiders found it to be a hospitable place to play in Week 8.
Kirk Cousins threw three touchdowns and ran for another as the Raiders ended their four-game losing streak with a 38-33 win over the Jets. The victory bumps their record to 4-4 ahead of a Week 9 trip to face the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium.
Cousins’s third touchdown pass of the day went to Jalen Nailor with 11:33 left to play in the game and it put the Raiders up 35-30 after they trailed by nine points at halftime. They allowed the Jets to drive the ball to their 13, but their defense was able to come up with a stop that led to Jason Sanders’s fourth field goal of the day. Raiders running back Mike Washington ran for one first down and the Jets used all their timeouts before a Cousins sneak on third down gave them another one at the two minute warning.
The Jets were able to stop the Raiders on the next third down and Matt Gay hit a 53-yard field goal with 27 seconds left to play. The Jets got the ball back and a penalty on a Garrett Wilson catch got them into Raiders territory, but Smith chucked one into the end zone from the 35-yard-line and it was picked off by Jeremy Chinn to the end the game.
Sanders’s first two kicks also came on Jets drives that got the ball into the red zone and the failure to score touchdowns haunted the Jets a day after Halloween. They churned up 424 yards and scored on their first six possessions, but settling for field goals and a defense that lived down to Ashton Jeanty’s slam of them got them beat on Sunday.
Jeanty was little more than a third-down back for the Raiders, but he did have a 45-yard catch to set up one touchdown. Washington ran 25 times for 83 yards and the Brock Bowers/Michael Mayer tight end combo had 12 catches for 145 yards. Two of Bowers’s catches went for touchdowns and Cousins was 19-of-26 for 247 yards on the afternoon.
The Raiders scored on six of their nine full possessions and they also got a 95-yard kickoff return from Dylan Laube on their way to the win. The Jets’ defensive shortcomings crushed them on a day when Braelon Allen, Adonai Mitchell, and Garrett Wilson all had big days against an overmatched Raiders defense. There’s a lot to like about the amount of talent on the offensive side of the ball for the Jets, but Aaron Glenn’s defensive acumen is creating no reason to believe he’s the right man for the job.
The Jets fell to 2-6 with the loss and they will be in Kansas City next Sunday.
Defense has been lacking for both teams at MetLife Stadium and the Raiders have taken advantage of the Jets’ shortcomings to move back into the lead.
Kirk Cousins hit wide receiver Jalen Nailor for a two-yard score with 11:33 left to play and the Raiders now lead the Jets 35-30. It’s the first time the Raiders have been in front since early in the second quarter.
Cousins has now completed three touchdown passes on the day and he has run for another score. Cousins’s biggest passing play on the drive came on a short pass to running back Ashton Jeanty, who stumbled and got up without being touched on his way to a 45-yard gain.
The Jets scored on their first six possessions, but punted after a penalty and a sack left them with a second-and-27 on their last possession. They’ll need to get back into their offensive groove to avoid a third straight loss.
We may never know whether the NFL fined Raiders minority owner/Fox broadcaster Tom Brady for openly and repeatedly criticizing officials during last Sunday’s Packers-Lions game. There will eventually be a question as to whether the FCC will issue a fine for the things he says on Fox.
Brady is up to two “s” bombs in 2026. The first one came in Week 2, after Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels suffered the second dislocation of his left elbow in two seasons. The other happened during Sunday’s Fox NFL Sunday pregame show.
Brady and Drew Brees were doing a quiz regarding the quarterbacks who rank third as to various all-time achievements. When Brady got the last one wrong, he blurted out, “Oh shit.”
Typically, fines are on the table when profanity is uttered on broadcast, three-letter networks. In recent years, however, the enforcement has gotten lax. And any fine would be imposed not on Brady or Fox but on the various stations that were broadcasting the show.
The Jets had the ball five times in the first half of Sunday’s game against the Raiders and they picked up points on all five possessions.
The last of those came on a Jason Sanders field goal that put them up 23-14 with nine seconds to play in the first half. The Raiders took a knee after the ensuing kickoff and they’ll get the ball coming out of the locker room in the third quarter.
Sanders also had field goals on the first two Jets possessions and Geno Smith threw touchdown passes the other times that the Jets had the ball. Smith hit Isaiah Williams for 18 yards on the first score and the second came on a 12-yard strike to Adonai Mitchell.
Mitchell has five catches for 78 yards and Smith is 11-of-17 for 146 yards. Braelon Allen has 18 carries for 121 yards as everything has been clicking offensively for the Jets on Sunday.
The Raiders started fast and led 7-3 after a Brock Bowers touchdown catch in the first quarter. Their other score came on a 95-yard Dylan Laube kickoff return and the offense picked up just 37 yards over the rest of the half. Ashton Jeanty, who threw some shade at the Jets defense this week, has one carry for a yard and one catch for 15 yards while Mike Washington has played a bigger role in the offense.
The Jets moved back into the lead on a second quarter touchdown, but their edge over the Raiders did not last long.
Dylan Laube returned the ensuing kickoff for a 95-yard touchdown. It is the first kickoff return touchdown in the NFL this season and it has the Raiders up 14-13 with just over 10 minutes to play in the first half.
Geno Smith hit wide receiver Isaiah Williams for an 18-yard touchdown to cap an eight-play, 70-yard drive and give the Jets their brief 13-7 lead.
Smith completed three other passes for 45 yards on the drive and the one incompletion was a drop of a well-thrown deep ball. Wide receiver Adonai Mitchell was responsible for that drop, but redeemed himself with a pair of catches for 41 yards later in the drive.
The Jets couldn’t punch the ball into the end zone on their first drive of Sunday’s game against the Raiders, but their visitors from Las Vegas had more success.
Kirk Cousins dropped a 12-yard pass into the hands of tight end Brock Bowers for a touchdown that put the road team up 7-3 with just over seven minutes to play in the first quarter. The drive covered 60 yards in just over five minutes.
The Jets opened the game with a 31-yard pass to Garrett Wilson and then got back-to-back 15-yard runs by Braelon Allen to move inside the Raiders’ 5-yard-line, but a negative run and a pair of incompletions forced them to settle for a Jason Sanders field goal.
Bowers also had a 23-yard catch on the Raiders’ opening drive and Jalen Nailor had a pair of catches for 24 yards.
With all the talk about the lack of targets for highly-paid veteran receiver Garrett Wilson, the Jets have been getting plenty of production out of first-round rookie Omar Cooper Jr.
Cooper suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 1. He returned in Week 6, and he has had a pair of 100-yard games, with a touchdown in each one.
If he does it again today against the Raiders, Cooper will become only the fifth rookie in NFL history with three straight 100-yard performances and a touchdown.
Via NBC Sports research, the others were Odell Beckham Jr. in 2014, Mike Evans in 2014, Randy Moss in 1998, and Jimmy Orr, way back in 1958.
Against the Patriots in Week 6, Cooper had six catches on seven targets, for 103 yards and a touchdown. Against the Dolphins in Week 7, Cooper had five catches on five targets for 115 yards and a touchdown.
Cooper’s ascension makes it even more plausible for the Jets to consider trade offers for Wilson. Even though the Jets claim they’re not open to trading him. Even if they aren’t, the calls will surely keep coming — especially if Wilson doesn’t have significant involvement today, and if Cooper does.
Wide receiver George Pickens has touchdown catches in two of his last three games and he’ll have a chance to make it three of four against the Cardinals on Sunday.
Pickens was listed as questionable on the Cowboys’ final injury report due to shoulder and hamstring issues, but he avoided the inactive list ahead of kickoff in Dallas. Pickens has 37 catches for 485 yards overall this season.
Defensive tackle Kenny Clark was also listed as questionable for the Cowboys due to a back injury. He joins Pickens in the lineup for Week 8.
Cardinals at Cowboys
Cardinals: QB Carson Beck, CB Starling Thomas, RB Evan Hull, LB Eku Leota, OL Jon Gaines, OL Albert Reese, DL Walter Nolen
Cowboys: WR KaVontae Turpin, CB Shavon Revel, LB Dee Winters, LB Tyrus Wheat, OL Drew Shelton, TE Luke Schoonmaker
Raiders at Jets
Raiders: WR Dont’e Thornton, QB Aidan O’Connell, WR Malik Benson, S Tristin McCollum, S Dalton Johnson, OL Bryce Cabeldue, DT JJ Pegues
Jets: RB Breece Hall, WR Tim Patrick, OL Max Mitchell, OL Kohl Levao, LB David Bailey, LB Joseph Ossai, CB Nahshon Wright
Falcons at Buccaneers
Falcons: QB Andy Dalton, QB Jack Strand, LB Divine Deablo, RB Brian Robinson, DB Billy Bowman, CB Robert Longerbeam, DE Drake Jackson
Buccaneers: WR Emeka Egbuka, CB Ayden Garnes, G Luke Haggard, G Billy Schrauth, DL DeMonte Capehart
Ravens at Bills
Ravens: WR Elijah Sarratt, S Jaylinn Hawkins, CB Chandler Rivers, OL Emery Jones, G Vega Ioane, DL Aeneas Peebles, QB Joe Fagnano
Bills: OT Spencer Brown, OL Ar’maj Reed-Adams, DL Greg Gaines, WR Skyler Bell, LB Mike Danna, CB Dee Alford, S Jalon Kilgore
Browns at Steelers
Browns: QB Dillon Gabriel, QB Taylen Green, LB Justin Jefferson, CB Noah Igbinoghene, RB Audric Estime, C Parker Brailsford
Steelers: WR Ben Skowronek, QB Drew Allar, QB Will Howard, CB Brandin Echols, RB Eli Heidenreich, CB Doneiko Slaughter
Colts at Jaguars
Colts: LB Bryce Boetticher, TE Pharaoh Brown, DT Kevin Givens, WR Anthony Gould, OL Charlie Heck, QB Riley Leonard, CB Justin Walley
Jaguars: S Antonio Johnson, WR CJ Williams, CB Alijah Huzzie, LB Jamal Hill, DE Wesley Williams, DT Albert Regis
Vikings at Lions
Vikings: S Jakobe Thomas, CB Charles Demmings, RB Demond Claiborne, OL Caleb Tiernan, DL Elijah Williams, QB Max Brosmer
Lions: TE Jackson Meeks, C Seth McLaughlin, DL Mekhi Wingo, DE Ahmed Hassanein, S Bishop Fitzgerald
Titans at Bengals
Titans: RB Tyjae Spears, WR Carnell Tate, P Tommy Townsend, OL Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, TE Kylen Granson, DL Jackie Marshall, DB Jaylon Jones
Bengals: S Kyle Dugger, C Connor Lew, OL Myles Hinton, WR Mitchell Tinsley, DT Landon Robinson
The Raiders traded defensive end Maxx Crosby in March. They won’t be trading him in November.
Unless they do.
The official word from Adam Schefter of ESPN is that the Raiders have “no plans” to trade Crosby. We’ve heard that message plenty of times over the years from teams that had “no intent” or “no intention” or “no plan” to trade a player.
Until they traded him.
It happened this week. The Titans had no plans to trade defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, until they did. They reportedly decided to start listening to the inquiries they were receiving on Tuesday. Two days later, Simmons was in Chicago.
The simple reality is that teams that want Crosby will keep calling the Raiders. If the Raiders lose the next two games before the deadline and fall to 3-6, maybe they’ll decide to do what they already decided to do in March.
The trade of Crosby to the Ravens for a pair of first-round picks fell apart after the Ravens decided they weren’t comfortable with the condition of his surgically-repaired knee. Still, it shows that the Raiders have already crossed the mental bridge required to pull the pin on a trade. If they did it in March, why wouldn’t they do it now — if they get an offer they like?
The problem is that whatever they get now will be compared to what they could have gotten in March. If it’s less than two first-round picks, it could be a challenge to sell the move to the fan base.
Or maybe not. After four straight losses, reality has set in for the once 3-0 Raiders. They still have plenty of holes on the roster. Trading Crosby would give them the ability to add young, cheap players. And it would free up cash and cap space to pay other veterans. Even if it’s less than two ones, it’s more than keeping Crosby through the never-ending rebuild.
In trading Simmons, the Titans added two first-round picks and avoided the bulk of his $105 million extension. The Titans need players, and the Simmons trade will become five or six. The Raiders could do something similar with Crosby, because they need players, too.
For now, they have “no plans.” We now wait to see whether, over the next nine days, their plans change.
And what, you say, of the notion that Crosby doesn’t want to go? Absent a no-trade clause, he won’t have much of a choice. And if/when he lands with a contender, it’s hard to imagine that he’d have many complaints.
