The Raiders cannot fix years of dysfunction in one Sunday afternoon.

But they can give everyone a reason to believe they have finally started.

That is the opportunity waiting at Allegiant Stadium, where the Dolphins arrive for a season opener that should be measured by more than the numbers on the scoreboard.

Yes, winning matters. The Raiders have done too little of it to treat a victory as anything other than valuable.

But the larger assignment is establishing that all the changes made since last season amount to more than another rearrangement of the furniture.

A new coach. A reshaped roster. A veteran quarterback entrusted with the present and a young one representing the future. Another offseason of decisions made under general manager John Spytek and with Tom Brady’s influence.

Sunday begins the process of finding out whether those pieces fit.

The timing comes with a complication.

Two of the most important players in the Raiders’ long-range vision will not drive the offense against Miami. Fernando Mendoza will watch as Kirk Cousins’ backup. Brock Bowers will sit out following knee surgery.

One is waiting for his opportunity. The other is waiting for his knee to heal.

Their absence from the offensive equation makes this an incomplete look at what the Raiders hope to become.

It does not make it a meaningless one.

In some ways, it sharpens the examination of everything being built around them.

Can the offensive line establish control? Can the running game provide an identity? Can Michael Mayer turn an expanded opportunity into evidence that he belongs in the long-term plan?

Can a young secondary play with enough discipline to make its growing pains manageable?

Can Klint Kubiak make the jump from designing an offense to directing an entire team?

Those are questions the Raiders need answered regardless of who is playing quarterback or catching passes at tight end.

Start up front, where the investment in Tyler Linderbaum reflects an understanding that a rebuild needs something sturdier than optimism.

Pairing an established center with left tackle Kolton Miller gives the Raiders important building blocks at positions that can stabilize an offense. Rick Dennison’s job is turning the entire group into a dependable unit.

The evidence will come in ordinary moments: a clean pocket on third down, a properly handled pressure, a running lane when everyone in the stadium knows the Raiders want to run.

Those plays rarely lead an offseason highlight package.

They can change a franchise’s direction.

So can an offense that gives Ashton Jeanty a legitimate chance to become the player the Raiders envisioned, rather than asking him to manufacture yards where little room exists.

Kubiak’s system should help provide that opportunity. Sunday begins to reveal how well the personnel can execute it.

Bowers’ absence also creates a revealing test of roster construction.

Good teams lose important players. The better ones have enough structure and depth to remain functional.

Mayer does not have to become Bowers. He does have to show that the Raiders can ask more of him and receive something substantial in return.

That matters beyond the opener. A productive Mayer alongside a healthy Bowers would give this offense possibilities that extend well beyond surviving one Sunday.

The same principle applies defensively.

Maxx Crosby’s excellence is established. What the Raiders need to discover is whether the players around him can turn individual disruption into collective improvement.

For defensive coordinator Rob Leonard, that means building a unit that communicates, tackles and understands its responsibilities.

For young defensive backs such as Darien Porter, Treydan Stukes, Jermod McCoy and Zeke Masses, it means showing that mistakes can become lessons without becoming recurring issues.

Nobody should expect a young defense to graduate in September.

It is fair to expect evidence that it is learning.

Then there is Cousins, whose role requires a careful balance between helping the Raiders advance and being the bridge to Mendoza.

He was brought in to provide stability, command and competent quarterback play. If he delivers those things, he can help the Raiders evaluate their offense under conditions that give everyone a fair chance.

But Mendoza remains central to the larger purpose.

Eventually, the Raiders must learn what they have in him. Progress around the quarterback position cannot indefinitely substitute for progress at it.

Sunday can still contribute to that future by establishing the kind of offense Mendoza will inherit.

Kubiak, meanwhile, will be evaluated on more than play selection.

His preparation should show in clean substitutions, sensible timeout usage and a team that knows how it wants to handle fourth down before the decision arrives.

His leadership should show in how the Raiders respond when the game becomes uncomfortable.

For Spytek and Brady, those details are the first returns on an approach that ultimately must produce something sustainable.

The Raiders have changed coaches, quarterbacks and organizational philosophies often enough to know that movement is not automatically progress.

Progress looks like fewer self-inflicted problems. More players developing into dependable contributors. An identifiable style of play that survives a bad series.

A victory would make all of that easier to celebrate.

A loss would not necessarily erase it, just as a win would not automatically prove the rebuild is working.

The standard should be honest in either direction.

By Sunday evening, the Raiders do not need every question answered.

They need fewer reasons to ask the same old ones.

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