Stephen A. doubts Kirk Cousins' 3-0 Raiders, and First Take's clip runs thirty-seven times past usual
With Kyle Brandt, Jordan Rodgers and Mad Dog Russo on the panel, the Chiefs-Raiders preview went well past the network's own NFL Live from the same day, and the comment section turned into a Raiders history seminar.
NFL on ESPNStory of Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 104,504 views a day, 38 times a normal first day on this channel (2,787).
‘WE REALLY THINK THAT’S GONNA LAST?!’ 😳 Stephen A. isn’t sold on Kirk Cousins & Raiders | First Take
Kansas City and Las Vegas both reach their meeting at 3-0, and Stephen A. Smith does not believe half of that sentence. His First Take panel previewed the matchup and asked whether a Raiders win over the Chiefs would even count as a surprise. Then it asked whether Kirk Cousins and his new team can keep this up. Stephen A.'s answer is right there in the title.
The clip had passed 70,000 views twelve hours after it went up. That is about thirty-seven times what a new video on NFL on ESPN usually draws in its first day. It also left the same day's NFL Live and Big Day previews well behind, only hours after the Fantasy Focus rankings show had been the busiest thing on the channel, as we reported here.
The panel is a mix of eras. Stephen A. has been First Take's loudest chair for years, and Chris "Mad Dog" Russo brings decades of New York sports radio. Kyle Brandt made his name on NFL Network's Good Morning Football, and Jordan Rodgers is a former quarterback.
In the comments, viewers cast Brandt as the Raiders' defender on the set, and several ask for more of him. The other big thread is Derek Carr. Plenty of viewers object to his name sharing a sentence with JaMarcus Russell's, and they point out that Carr holds the franchise record for passing yards. A few wonder whether the league should move the game to Sunday night. Others note that a lot of preseason favorites now sit below Las Vegas in the standings.
The skeptic got the crowd, and the Raiders' faithful came to argue with him.
Published on Trari
What viewers say
Kyle is standing on business for Raider Nation!
@GrapezzzzSee it on YouTubeKyle Brandt has been growing on me as an analyst.
@Alanboy395See it on YouTubeMore Kyle!
@ScottReesor74See it on YouTube
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- Channel
- NFL on ESPN
- Subscribers
- 906,000
- Channel views, pace per day
- 3,395,506 (on a normal day: 741,138)
- Video published
- September 30, 2026
- Video views so far
- 71,219 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 104,504
The numbers
A short debate clip from a morning show traveled much further than this channel's new videos usually do in their first hours.
💡 Test your knowledge
Which Raiders owner made "Just win, baby" the franchise's famous motto?
Al Davis, who ran the Raiders for decades, made "Just win, baby" his and the team's lasting slogan.
