Raiders 27, Dolphins 13: Jeanty's 147 yards are real, but Miami handed this one over
Ashton Jeanty accounted for 147 yards and logged the third 100-yard game of his career. That's the headline out of Week 1 of the 2026 season, and it's accurate. It's also the less interesting half of the story.
Look at what Miami did with the ball. Malik Willis went 15-of-27 for 220 yards with no touchdowns, one interception, a 29.4 QBR and five sacks taken for 35 lost yards. De'Von Achane carried 11 times for 36 yards, a 3.3 average. The Dolphins' one explosive play came on special teams, Jaylen Wright returning two kicks for 106 yards with a long of 79. That's not an offense. That's a team that couldn't protect its quarterback or run the ball, and the Raiders beat it by 14.
Which is fine. Winning by two scores on opening weekend while barely needing your passing game is a good Sunday. It is not evidence that Las Vegas has solved anything.
What it does establish is how the Raiders are built right now. Silver and Black Pride's mailbag going into this game asked who needed to step up with Brock Bowers out. The answer turned out to be the running back, and Las Vegas answered accordingly. Jeanty was the plan, the plan worked, and there's no mystery about what happens if it stops working.
So here's the number I'd circle, and it isn't 147. It's five. Miami let Willis get dropped five times, and if that continues the Dolphins' season is cooked by October regardless of what anyone else in the AFC East does.
My call, on the record: Jeanty finishes 2026 carrying the largest share of his team's yards from scrimmage of any running back in the league, and the Raiders' ceiling is determined by how many weeks they can win without asking him to be the entire offense. Week 1 says they can win that way. It doesn't say how long.
