LAS VEGAS, NV - The Las Vegas Raiders did not spend Season 35 trying to prove they belonged among the league's contenders. By the end of the year, that question had already been answered.
Under head coach Max Farias, Las Vegas finished 13-4, won the AFC West, produced the highest-scoring offense in 2K OLF and advanced all the way to the AFC Championship Game. The Raiders ultimately ran into the team that would go on to win the Super Bowl, but their 48-28 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers did little to erase what had been one of the strongest seasons in the league.
Season 36 now presents a different challenge. Farias is not trying to turn the Raiders into contenders anymore. He is trying to take a team that has repeatedly pushed deep into the postseason during his latest stint and find the pieces necessary to finish another championship run.
Season 35 Became One of the League's Most Explosive Offensive Runs
Las Vegas finished Season 35 averaging 36.9 points and 424.2 yards per game, scoring a league-high 628 points while producing 80 touchdowns. The Raiders converted an extraordinary 59.7 percent of their third downs, averaged 9.5 yards per passing attempt and surrendered only 18 sacks across the regular season.
The numbers became even more impressive when broken down individually.
Quarterback Desmond Newman finished second in the league with 5,020 passing yards while throwing a league-leading 52 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. He completed 73.2 percent of his passes and finished with a 127.7 quarterback rating, giving Farias one of the most productive passing attacks in Season 35.
The offense was hardly one-dimensional. Ashton Jeanty rushed for 1,505 yards and 15 touchdowns while averaging 6.1 yards per carry, and Brock Bowers produced 1,466 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. Bowers finished second among all receivers in yardage while giving Las Vegas one of the league's most dangerous mismatch weapons.
When Las Vegas was operating at full speed, there simply were not many answers for it.
A Midseason Stumble Gave Way to a Relentless Finish
The Raiders opened the season with convincing victories over the Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans before encountering their first rough stretch. Losses to the Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs left Las Vegas at 3-3 and briefly created questions about whether the early offensive fireworks could translate into sustained success.
Farias' team answered emphatically.
Las Vegas won at Detroit and Chicago, suffered a narrow 37-35 loss against the Dallas Cowboys, and then did not lose again during the regular season. The Raiders closed the schedule with eight consecutive victories, including a 35-21 road win over the Kansas City Chiefs, a 40-37 victory at Cincinnati and a 52-16 demolition of the Los Angeles Chargers.
By the time the postseason arrived, Las Vegas had developed into one of the most dangerous teams in the entire AFC.
The Raiders Came Within One Game of the Super Bowl
Las Vegas opened the postseason with a 38-17 Wild Card victory over the Indianapolis Colts, with Jeanty rushing for 179 yards. The Raiders followed that performance by defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 34-20 in the Divisional Round, sending Farias back to the AFC Championship Game.
Waiting there was Pittsburgh.
Las Vegas still moved the football against the Steelers, but four Newman interceptions changed the complexion of the game. Pittsburgh returned three of those interceptions for touchdowns, turning what had the potential to become an offensive shootout into a 48-28 Steelers victory.
The Raiders created explosive plays and generated offense, but against a team as complete as Pittsburgh, the turnovers were simply too damaging to overcome. The Steelers advanced, eventually captured the first championship in franchise history, and Las Vegas entered the offseason knowing exactly how close it had come.
Max Farias Has Been Here Many Times Before
For Farias, another deep Raiders postseason run added a new chapter to a coaching career filled with them.
Farias originally took over the Raiders in Season 2, when the franchise was still in Oakland, and eventually built one of the most successful stretches in team history. His first run included nine AFC West championships, back-to-back Super Bowl appearances in Seasons 10 and 11, and a Season 11 championship.
His postseason résumé after Season 10 also shows just how much success followed him after leaving the Raiders. Farias led the Cleveland Browns to a Season 16 championship, took the Miami Dolphins to the Super Bowl in Season 27 and then won another championship with the San Francisco 49ers in Season 29.
From Season 10 forward, Farias has coached in 46 playoff games, compiling a 30-16 postseason record. During that span, his teams have reached six Super Bowls and won three championships.
Then came the return home.
The Second Raiders Run Has Produced One Contender After Another
Farias returned to the Raiders ahead of Season 30, beginning a second tenure that has quickly put the franchise back among the AFC's most consistent contenders.
Las Vegas went 8-8-1 in his first season back before exploding to a 16-1 record in Season 31. That team advanced to the AFC Championship Game, where Houston escaped with a 34-31 victory.
The Raiders responded with a 14-3 campaign in Season 32 and returned to the conference championship. Once again, the Houston Texans ended the run, this time with a 27-13 victory.
Season 33 finally saw Las Vegas break through that barrier. After defeating Buffalo and Pittsburgh, the Raiders crushed the Kansas City Chiefs 49-17 in the AFC Championship Game to send Farias back to the Super Bowl. Dallas ultimately denied him another title, defeating Las Vegas 38-17 in the Season 33 Super Bowl.
Season 34 produced another 12-win campaign and a playoff victory over Cincinnati before Baltimore eliminated Las Vegas 23-20 in the Divisional Round. Then came Season 35: 13 victories, another division title and another trip to the AFC Championship Game.
Across the first six seasons of his second Raiders tenure, Farias has compiled a 72-29-1 regular-season record. Las Vegas has reached the postseason in five consecutive seasons, gone 9-5 in playoff games, appeared in four AFC Championship Games and reached one Super Bowl.
That history changes the question surrounding Season 36. The Raiders do not need to prove that Farias can take them deep into January. He has already done it repeatedly.
The question is whether the next run ends with another trophy.
The Quarterback Room Will Look Completely Different
Perhaps the biggest Season 36 storyline in Las Vegas will come at quarterback.
The offense Farias commanded in Season 35 revolved around Newman, but the Raiders enter the new Madden 27 cycle with a dramatically different quarterback situation. Kirk Cousins joined Las Vegas during free agency, while the Raiders used the No. 1 overall pick on Fernando Mendoza out of Indiana.
The presence of Cousins and Mendoza gives Farias two very different possibilities. Cousins brings veteran experience, while Mendoza arrives as the most significant rookie investment a team can make at the position.
Who ultimately becomes the quarterback Farias trusts to run the offense will be one of the defining questions of Season 36.
What will not change is the talent surrounding whoever wins the job.
Jeanty and Bowers Give Las Vegas Two Elite Building Blocks
Even with the quarterback transition, the Raiders still have two offensive players who were central to everything they accomplished last season.
Jeanty returns after his 1,505-yard Season 35 campaign, while Bowers remains one of the most dangerous mismatch weapons in the league. Together, they give Las Vegas proven offensive centerpieces regardless of who ultimately takes the first snap at quarterback.
The receiving corps has also changed. Jalen Nailor joins Las Vegas after spending the previous four seasons in Minnesota, while Dont'e Thornton Jr., Jack Bech and Tre Tucker remain part of the group.
Up front, the Raiders made one of their most significant offseason additions by signing center Tyler Linderbaum, while guard Spencer Burford also joined the offensive line.
That combination gives the next Raiders quarterback something most new starters would love to inherit: a strong offensive line, an elite tight end and a running back who already proved he can carry a major workload.
The Defense Received a Serious Makeover
Las Vegas' offense attracted most of the attention in Season 35, but the defense quietly produced some remarkable numbers of its own.
Opponents averaged only 62 rushing yards per game, while Las Vegas intercepted 18 passes and allowed 21.2 points per game. Brian Branch recorded five interceptions, Odafe Oweh led the team with 9.5 sacks and Jordan Whitehead forced five fumbles.
Season 36 will bring a different collection of defenders around Maxx Crosby, who remains one of the centerpieces of the Raiders defensive front.
Las Vegas added linebackers Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker, signed defensive end Kwity Paye, acquired cornerback Taron Johnson in a trade and retained Malcolm Koonce and Eric Stokes.
The linebacker overhaul in particular gives Farias a dramatically different group to work with. Dean and Walker bring speed and range to the middle of the defense, while Crosby and Paye give the Raiders multiple ways to create pressure off the edge.
Fernando Mendoza Headlines a Large Rookie Class
Las Vegas also enters Season 36 with one of the largest rookie classes in the league.
Mendoza naturally becomes the headliner after being selected first overall, but the Raiders made 10 draft selections in total. Safety Treydan Stukes came off the board at No. 38, followed by defensive end Keyron Crawford at No. 67 and guard Trey Zuhn III at No. 91.
The Raiders continued adding defensive help with cornerback Jermod McCoy, safeties Dalton Johnson and Hezekiah Masses, and defensive tackle Brandon Cleveland. Running back Mike Washington Jr. and receiver Malik Benson rounded out the offensive additions.
Not every rookie will immediately become a major contributor, but Farias will have no shortage of new pieces to evaluate once Season 36 begins.
Three Questions Entering Season 36
The first question is unavoidable: Who runs the offense? Cousins gives Las Vegas a veteran option, while Mendoza represents the future and arrives with the expectations attached to the first overall pick.
The second is whether the Raiders can reproduce the offensive efficiency that made them so overwhelming last season. Scoring 628 points and converting nearly 60 percent of third downs set an extraordinarily high standard, particularly with such a significant transition at quarterback.
The third is whether the revamped defense can provide the difference when the postseason reaches its most unforgiving stages. Farias has taken Las Vegas to four AFC Championship Games in the last five seasons and reached a Super Bowl during that stretch. At this point, another playoff appearance alone is not the goal.
Season 36 Outlook
The Las Vegas Raiders are entering Season 36 from a position most teams would gladly accept.
They are not searching for an identity. Max Farias already established one.
Season 35 showed exactly what his Raiders can become when everything is working: explosive, balanced and capable of overwhelming opponents on both sides of the ball. A 13-win season, 628 points and another AFC Championship appearance made Las Vegas one of the defining teams of the year.
The roster surrounding Farias will be different this time, particularly at quarterback, but the foundation remains formidable. Jeanty, Bowers and Crosby give Las Vegas elite talent at three critical spots, while Cousins, Mendoza, Linderbaum, Dean, Walker and Paye headline a significant wave of new additions.
Farias has already taken the Raiders back to the doorstep several times. He has reached the AFC Championship Game in four of the last five seasons, won the conference once during that span and already owns a championship from his first run with the franchise.
Season 36 is about finding out whether Max Farias can kick the door down one more time.
