These arent the same old Raiders, but Chiefs remain measuring stick

NEW ORLEANS — It was cute at first.The Raiders beat the Dolphins, then the Chargers, and a team that won three games last season suddenly had won its first two this year.Good for them.Nice little story.

Give them some attention while there was still a reason to.You could almost sense the rest of the country waiting for reality to arrive.The other shoe would drop.

The Raiders would go back to being the Raiders, then disappear into the background where they have spent so much of the last three decades.Sunday, the familiar ending seemed to be writing itself.The Saints had wrestled away control, the Superdome was roaring, and the Raiders were staring at an 11-point deficit with 5:46 remaining in the third quarter.The Raiders were back to being the Raiders.After so many collapses and so much hapless football, who could blame anyone for thinking it?“I just remember in past years, being down 11, it’s kind of like, the game’s over with,” said Raiders wide receiver Tre Tucker.Except those Raiders never showed up.“Not for us,” Tucker said.Business as usual became anything but.

The Raiders forced turnovers on the Saints’ final four possessions, scored 19 unanswered points and walked out with a 35-27 victory that keeps challenging what we think we know about them.Cute no longer covers it.“You just keep playing,” said quarterback Kirk Cousins.Simple advice.It carries more weight when the quarterback delivering it can show everyone how.Cousins is proving he’s more than a bridge to prized young quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

There is still life in his arm, wisdom in his decisions and a steadiness that can settle a sideline when a game threatens to unravel.Sunday, he helped the Raiders turn panic into poise, then poise into winning football.“Playing through the smoke,” Cousins said.“Which is inevitably what’s going to happen in this league.”You don’t go into New Orleans, fall behind by double digits in the second half, and take the whole aftern...