Miami Dolphins at Las Vegas Raiders

Kirk Cousins hits 301 career TD passes as Raiders open the season with a 27-13 win over Dolphins

Cousins, now in his 15th season, quickly showed Sunday why the Raiders acquired him from Atlanta for that role, completing his first 10 passes and effectively running the offense in a 27-13 season-opening victory over the Miami Dolphins.

He became the 15th quarterback to throw at least 300 touchdown passes in his career after tossing three TDs. Cousins completed 21 of 30 passes for 160 yards, though he was intercepted twice.

He has 301 touchdown passes for his career, moving into 14th place and one TD ahead of John Elway.

“I think it's just a testament to trying to win the long game, trying to have good habits over a long period of time,” Cousins said. “I feel like it's also a testament to the people I've been able to work with — the coaches, the players around me. I'm really grateful for all the people involved in being able to do that.”

Cousins is the first Raiders quarterback to throw at least three TDs in the opener since Kerry Collins in 2005 against New England.

Two of his TD passes went to running back Ashton Jeanty, who also rushed for 102 yards and caught six passes for 45 more. This was the third career 100-yard game for Jeanty, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft who showed no ill effects of an ankle injury he suffered on Aug. 23.

The Raiders totaled 290 yards in their first game under coach Klint Kubiak, the offensive coordinator on Seattle's Super Bowl-championship team last season. It was a noticeable improvement for an offense that last season was last in the league in yardage (245.2 per game) and scoring (14.2 points).

Las Vegas did it without star tight end Brock Bowers, who didn't play after undergoing knee surgery. Michael Mayer stepped up and caught six passes for 32 yards in Bowers' absence.

But Kubiak, who received a game ball in the locker room for his first career victory as a head coach, wasn't pleased with how the offense finished the game. Other than the final possession, when the Raiders went into victory formation, their four fourth-quarter drives ended in three punts and an interception.

“We have a lot to get better at, but I'm very excited for our team and our organization,” Kubiak said.

Las Vegas is about to embark on a six-game gauntlet against teams such as Kansas City, Buffalo and the Los Angeles Rams that will test how much the offense truly has improved.

The Dolphins, the league's youngest team with an average age of 25.5, weren't much of a test. But expectations aren't high for Miami this season under first-year coach Jeff Hafley.

He said he was pleased with his players' fight and the chance to make it a one-possession game late.

“We have to coach better and we need to play better,” Hafley said. “A lot of guys were out there who were out there for the first time. Some of them had to take a deep breath and settle in a little bit.”

Malik Willis, under pressure much of the game, passed for 220 yards with an interception. He was sacked five times, with 1 1/2 by Maxx Crosby, who became the third Raider to record at least 70 for his career since sacks became an official statistic in 1982.

“You can blame the sacks on me,” Willis said. “Sack is a quarterback stat.”

Las Vegas never trailed in taking advantage of a rare true home-field advantage. The Raiders used a 16-play, 93-yard opening drive that ate up 8:58 to take a 7-0 lead. They had just one TD drive of 90-plus yards all last season.

They led 17-3 at one point before the Dolphins cut the advantage to 17-13 early in the third quarter. But then Dylan Laube returned the ensuing kickoff 50 yards to midfield to set up Cousins' 13-yard scoring pass to Jeanty to again assume control.

“That's what we expect from our guys, no head down, no ‘woe is me,’” Kubiak said. “It's easy for a game to go the other way, and I was proud of our players, of how they responded and how the coaching staff got them ready to go for the next round.”

Injuries Dolphins: LB Ronnie Harrison Jr. (hamstring) was injured in the second half.

Raiders: CB Darien Porter (foot) was injured in the fourth quarter.

Up next Dolphins: Visit San Francisco on Sunday.

Raiders: Visit the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

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