The Raiders open the 2026 season with a matchup that asks two different questions at the same time.
Can Las Vegas survive Brock Bowers’ absence on offense? And can it keep Miami from turning a weakness in the middle of the defense into the game’s defining problem?
Sunday’s opener in Las Vegas, set for 4:25 p.m. ET, comes with Bowers out with a knee injury and out in the early part of the season. That leaves the Raiders to adjust quickly around one of their most productive players from a year ago. Bowers posted 680 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in just 12 games last season, and his 680 yards were only 16 shy of the team lead.
That is the hole Klint Kubiak has to fill in his first game as play-caller.
One of the clearest signs of how the Raiders may try to do it is the possibility of leaning on Connor Heyward. Kubiak has already pointed to the need for the “five best eligibles,” and the team is expected to use a fullback position that was not even on the roster in 2025. That makes Heyward a natural candidate to absorb some of the work that would otherwise have gone to Bowers, even if his career production has been modest: 384 receiving yards and three total touchdowns.
The shift is not just about replacing a pass catcher. It is about changing how the Raiders line up and how they present the offense to Miami. Kubiak’s willingness to add a role that did not exist on the roster last season suggests the Raiders are looking for flexibility as much as they are looking for a direct substitute.
At the same time, Miami’s path to a Week 1 win runs through a different part of the field.
The Dolphins’ interior line, led by Aaron Brewer and first-round rookie Kadyn Proctor, is expected to be a strength this season, and that puts pressure on a Raiders defensive front that already looks vulnerable on paper. Adam Butler, Tonka Hemingway and Jonah Laulu posted Pro Football Focus grades of 53.8, 37.6 and 40.9 last season, numbers that do not suggest a dominant interior. Butler and Hemingway are listed as the starters at defensive tackle, with Laulu and Folorunso Fatukasi behind them.
There is also a size issue. Hemingway is listed at 284 pounds and Butler at 301, lighter than most NFL defensive tackles, which only sharpens the concern about how Las Vegas handles Miami inside.
That concern is not abstract. The same group was part of a defense that finished 25th in points allowed last season, giving up 25.4 points per game. The Raiders were 3-14, and they were in position to pick first overall for a reason.
Still, the Raiders do have one obvious edge piece in place: Maxx Crosby remains on the roster after a botched trade would have sent him to the Ravens and off Miami’s schedule. With Bowers unavailable and the defensive line already under scrutiny, Crosby’s presence matters because he is one of the few established pieces Las Vegas can count on as it tries to stabilize both sides of the ball.
That is what makes this opener feel like more than a standard Week 1 reset. The Raiders are trying to install a new offensive wrinkle while also surviving a matchup that points straight at their weakest-looking area. If Heyward can help the offense function without Bowers, and if the interior defense can hold up against Miami’s line, Las Vegas can at least keep the game from tilting in the Dolphins’ preferred direction.
If not, Sunday could quickly become a test the Raiders spend most of the afternoon trying to catch up to.