The following is an excerpt from Warren Sharp's 2026 Football Preview. In addition to Warren's deep, detailed write-up on all 32 NFL teams, each chapter features page after page of full-color charts, stats, and heatmaps, as well as penalty analysis from Joe Gibbs. Click here for a full FREE chapter from the 2026 Football Preview.
Penalties are an under-discussed aspect of NFL success and failure. Average teams can become playoff contenders with good discipline, and good teams can become great simply by winning the penalty battle.
Let's look at how the Las Vegas Raiders performed from a penalty perspective in 2025 and where they can improve in 2026.
Las Vegas Raiders 2026 Penalty Outlook: Discipline, Flags & Hidden Edges
The Good
- The Raiders tied for 15th in penalties per game last season.
- The Raiders performed well at home from a penalty perspective, ending 2025 ranking in the bottom third in per-game average. Allegiant Stadium is the destination hub for opposing fans, and more often than not, the Raiders are playing in a stadium that is 70% occupied by opposition fans. The reality is that this dynamic is not going away, and the Raiders need to be extra disciplined in “home” contests to level the playing field.
The Bad
- The Raiders ranked as a top-five penalized team for fourth-quarter penalties in 2025.
- The offense generated an anemic average of just nine yards per beneficial defensive pass interference penalty, further highlighting their lack of explosiveness and inability to stretch the field.
- An above-average 50% of the Raiders' automatic first downs via penalty were surrendered on third-down plays, significantly higher than the league average of 31.6%.
- The Raiders were a top-three penalized special teams unit.
Grade: C
Anticipation and expectations are high in Vegas after drafting Fernando Mendoza No. 1 overall and hiring Super Bowl-winning Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.
The Raiders fortified their defense via free agency, and the failed Maxx Crosby trade may end up being a blessing in disguise.
The Raiders will toil away in relative anonymity, with no prime-time games on their schedule.
Despite the optimism surrounding the team in the offseason, the Raiders have their work cut out for them.
Las Vegas plays in arguably the toughest division in football with no true advantage at Allegiant Stadium for most “home” games, and a realistic expectation in 2026 would be doubling last season's win total.
However, hope springs eternal in the NFL, and Raider Nation is banking on a brighter future sooner rather than later with Mendoza, Kubiak, and Crosby leading the charge.
This analysis continues in the 2026 Football Preview
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Warren Sharp’s 600+ page full-color PDF, the 2026 Football Preview, is unlike anything you have read. Stunning visualizations, including new heat maps and stat pages, are built with the reader in mind. Innovative, next-level thought processes abound in every team chapter and article.
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- Team Chapters previews are in-depth, data-driven & full of actionable info
- Fantasy Football player profiles, predictions, and ranks
- Vegas Odds forecast team wins, division rankings, lines for all 2026 games
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- Front Office Analysis positional spending, roster construction & cap analysis
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- Rankings for every positional unit on every team with analysis
- Penalty analysis for all 32 NFL teams
