Raiders Host Bills at Allegiant on Sunday With Cian Sloan Elevated and Josh Allen in Town

October 18, 2026

LAS VEGAS

Sunday afternoon at Allegiant Stadium is the kind of game Las Vegas circled when the schedule came out: the Buffalo Bills, 4-1 and rolling, in town to face a Las Vegas Raiders team that started fast and has spent the last two weeks trying to stop a slide. Kickoff is set for 1:25 p.m. PT — 4:25 p.m. ET — on CBS, with Buffalo favored by 5.5 points, according to the New York Post's watch guide. For the Raiders, at 3-2, this is less about style points than about proof: proof that the opening stretch was real, and proof that they can still make life hard for one of the league's best quarterbacks on their own field.

The Raiders' path here is easy to read on the schedule page. They beat Miami, won at the Los Angeles Chargers and won at the New Orleans Saints to open the year with real momentum. Then the turn came: a 30-27 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, close enough to sting, followed by a 45-17 loss at the New England Patriots that was not close at all. Two straight defeats do not erase a 3-2 start, but they do change the temperature of a home game like this one. A win over Buffalo and the Raiders are 4-2 with the early-season story intact. A third straight loss, and the conversation in Las Vegas shifts quickly to what went wrong.

A new name on the edge: Cian Sloan gets his chance

The most interesting Raiders move of the weekend happened on Saturday, a day before kickoff. Las Vegas elevated edge rusher Cian Sloan from the practice squad, according to Silver and Black Pride. With Josh Allen coming to town, the Raiders will need help to get after the passer, and Sloan is the fresh set of legs they chose to add for Sunday.

Sloan's story is the classic undrafted climb. He came out of NC State as an undrafted free agent after recording 11 sacks in college, and his athletic testing made him an intriguing prospect from the start. In the preseason, he made plays and generated genuine buzz as a potential roster addition — many observers thought he would make the team outright based on that preseason performance. Instead, he lost out to veteran Patrick Johnson and was sent to the practice squad, where he has waited for exactly this kind of weekend.

Now the chance is here, and it comes with a clear, honest expectation. Silver and Black Pride notes that Sloan now has a chance to show what he can do, with an opportunity to contribute on defense and on special teams. Nobody in the building is asking an undrafted practice-squad elevation to win a game against Josh Allen by himself. What the Raiders need is energy in the rotation, a few disciplined rush snaps that keep Allen inside the pocket instead of letting him extend plays, and reliable work on special teams, where games against good opponents so often tilt. If Sloan gives them that, the elevation has done its job — and he will have made his case for more than a one-week stay on the active roster.

The Allen problem

Every Raiders game plan this week starts with the same name. Josh Allen and the Bills arrive at 4-1 after a 37-34 Monday Night Football win at the Los Angeles Rams, a result that underlined how hard Buffalo is to put away. The Bills can score late, score fast and survive a shootout on the road. That is precisely the profile that has punished Las Vegas in its last two outings, and it is why the pass rush — Sloan's unit — matters so much on Sunday afternoon.

One related note: Maxx Crosby's league fine from the Patriots game is covered separately in our story on the Crosby fine — here, what matters is that Crosby remains the engine of this defense, and the Raiders need his best afternoon to make Allen uncomfortable for four quarters in their own building.

What about the quarterback room?

On the other side of the ball, the New York Post's account has veteran Kirk Cousins as the Raiders' quarterback, with an intriguing subplot behind him: No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza may get more snaps after his debut last week, when he went 6-of-8 for 48 yards. That combination — a veteran starter and a top pick easing in — gives Sunday a second storyline worth watching snap by snap. If the game stays close, Cousins' experience is the steadier hand to manage it. If the afternoon tilts, Mendoza's cameo could grow, and Allegiant Stadium would get a longer look at the future in the middle of a game that matters right now.

How Las Vegas balances those two timelines against a 4-1 opponent will say plenty about where this team believes it is. A club chasing wins today protects the present. A club building for tomorrow finds its rookie real work. At 3-2, with two straight losses fresh in the memory, the Raiders are standing exactly on that line — which is what makes this kickoff feel bigger than a normal mid-October Sunday, and why the building should be loud well before the CBS cameras settle in.

How to watch

Buffalo Bills at Las Vegas Raiders kicks off Sunday, October 18 at 1:25 p.m. PT (4:25 p.m. ET) at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, televised on CBS, with Buffalo favored by 5.5 points. If you are heading to the stadium, arrive early — a visiting team and a visiting quarterback who travel this well tend to fill a building fast. If you are watching from home, keep the Previously news front open for the result and reaction after the final whistle. The Raiders asked for a stage like this when they came to Las Vegas. On Sunday, with Josh Allen on the other sideline and a rookie edge rusher dressing for his shot, they get it.