Klint Kubiak spent the week before Sunday’s visit from the Los Angeles Rams treating the Las Vegas Raiders‘ three-game losing streak as a coaching problem first: the energy his team carries out of the locker room after halftime, the flags, and the way close games have slipped away in the final minutes.
The first-year head coach opened 3-0, the third man in club history to start a tenure that way. Since then the Raiders have lost 30-27 to Kansas City, 45-17 at New England and 33-30 to Buffalo. On Monday, a day after the Buffalo defeat, Kubiak described a locker room that had already turned the page. “We were down yesterday, but not today,” he said.
The quarter after halftime
The pattern Kubiak keeps returning to is the third quarter. Over the three losses the Raiders have been outscored 24-3 in that period: neither side scored in it against the Chiefs, New England pulled away 14-3 after the break, and Buffalo turned a 13-13 halftime tie into a 23-13 lead with a field goal and a Keon Coleman touchdown before Las Vegas answered. Kubiak said the staff is reviewing how it uses the halftime break and tied the issue largely to energy, saying the players need to come out of the tunnel sharper for the second half.
He was just as direct about discipline. Las Vegas was flagged seven times for 62 yards against Buffalo, a week after eight penalties for 101 yards in New England, and one sequence against the Bills forced a timeout simply to avoid having 12 men on the field. Kubiak called that unacceptable and put it on the coaches.
Raiders Live | HC Klint Kubiak & STC Joe DeCamillis | 10.23.26 https://t.co/mXlTjneKBB
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 23, 2026
Closing out games
Two of the three losses were decided late. Against Kansas City, Matt Gay’s 48-yard field goal put the Raiders ahead 19-17 with 4:53 left, and the Chiefs then scored two touchdowns 19 seconds apart. Against Buffalo, a Tre Tucker touchdown tied it 23-23 with 8:07 to play before the Bills added 10 straight points; Tucker’s 44-yard catch with 1:32 left only made it 33-30. Kubiak’s message on Friday was that a team content to keep the fourth quarter close does not have a winning mindset. He wants points every time special teams or the defense hand the offense a short field or a takeaway, and a stop every time the defense is sent out after a sudden change.
Kirk Cousins took his share as well, admitting he hunted for the deep ball too often on the second-to-last drive against Buffalo, which ended with three straight incompletions. Cousins still threw for 313 yards and two touchdowns that day, and Tucker caught five passes for 97 yards and both scores. Kubiak called the receiver the “best conditioned athlete I’ve ever been around.”
Who is back for the Rams
Defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway is cleared to return after missing the Buffalo game in the concussion protocol, a needed boost for a run defense that has struggled to slow opponents on the ground during the skid. Rookie running back Mike Washington Jr., who ran nine times for 43 yards last week, is questionable with foot and back injuries, but Kubiak said the club expects him to be ready. Receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr. will not be activated this week; his 21-day practice window runs out on Wednesday, October 28. The full list is on our injury page.
What comes next
The Raiders host the 2-4 Rams at Allegiant Stadium at 4:25 p.m. EDT on Sunday, October 25; follow it in the Game Center. Las Vegas then travels to the Jets on Sunday, November 1.
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