The Las Vegas Raiders beat the New Orleans Saints 35-27 on Sunday at the Caesars Superdome, and turnovers decided it. New Orleans gave the ball away 4 times to Las Vegas's 1, wasting a day on which it outgained the Raiders and scored a touchdown on every red-zone trip.

The Saints lost 3 fumbles and threw 1 interception. That is how a team finishes with more yards, more first downs and more time of possession and still loses by 8.

How It Happened

Matt Gay opened the scoring with a 41-yard field goal at 7:35 of the first quarter. New Orleans answered with 50 seconds left when Tyler Shough found Juwan Johnson for a 2-yard touchdown. The extra point was blocked, leaving the Saints up 6-3.

Gay tied it early in the second quarter with a 37-yarder. Kirk Cousins then hit Michael Mayer from 3 yards out to put Las Vegas back in front.

Shough answered with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Noah Fant at 1:54 to tie it again. Gay closed the half with a 25-yard field goal as time expired, sending the Raiders to the locker room with the lead.

New Orleans took control in the third quarter. Shough hit Johnson from 1 yard at 6:40 and Fant from 16 yards at 5:46, back-to-back touchdowns that made it 27-16.

Las Vegas responded at 3:20 with Mike Washington Jr.'s 36-yard touchdown run. The two-point pass failed, leaving the Raiders down 27-22 heading into the fourth.

Cousins found Cody White for a 4-yard score at 9:21 to put Las Vegas ahead 28-27, though another two-point try failed. At 6:22, Cousins hit Brock Bowers from 4 yards and Gay's kick made it 35-27. The Saints did not score again.

Key Performers

Kirk Cousins, LV: 3 passing TD – Michael Mayer (3 YDS), Cody White (4 YDS), Brock Bowers (4 YDS)
Tyler Shough, NO: 4 passing TD – Juwan Johnson (2 and 1 YDS), Noah Fant (3 and 16 YDS)
Matt Gay, LV: 3 FG (41, 37, 25 YDS), 2 PAT
Mike Washington Jr., LV: 36-YD rushing TD

Cousins threw 2 of his touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, the ones that flipped the game. Shough threw 4 touchdown passes and still lost, which tells you where the Saints' problem was.

Total yards: LV 340, NO 381
Turnovers: LV 1, NO 4
Red zone: LV 3-6, NO 4-4
Third down: LV 7-12, NO 9-15
Possession: LV 27:32, NO 32:28

What It Means

Las Vegas is 3-0 and 2-0 on the road. This was not a dominant win: the Raiders turned only half their red-zone trips into touchdowns and lost the yardage battle. They won because they protected the ball and New Orleans did not.

New Orleans falls to 1-2. The Saints are 0-1 at home and 1-1 on the road, so their only win has come away from the Superdome.

One home game is a small sample, and the fix here is not about venue. A team that runs for 5.3 yards a carry and goes 4-for-4 in the red zone should not lose at home. Four turnovers made sure it did.