Chargers fail to fire again as Raiders go 2-0

After last week’s abomination and shock loss at home to the Arizona Cardinals, it would have been only natural to expect a strong response from the Los Angeles Chargers in a divisional matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Raiders entered full of confidence after their opening week success over the Miami Dolphins, despite again being without Brock Bowers, who was ruled out prior to kickoff through injury.

All eyes were on Justin Herbert, whose first drive got the team into position for a very long field goal, which struck the upright and missed off Cameron Dicker’s boot, which was not the start the home fans were after.

Cam Hart snared an interception off Kirk Cousins shortly after, but Herbert and the offense were again unable to parlay that into points, as the visitors eventually struck first on a perfectly-weighted deep-ball that found Tre Tucker in stride in the end zone, inciting even the most optimistic Chargers fans to ponder whether this was to be deja vu from the same time last week.

It took the Raiders scoring first to kick LA into gear, as they began to look like the team most expected, capped off by a touchdown to Omarion Hampton.

Las Vegas regained possession with just 35 seconds remaining in the first half, but elected not to head to the break, as Cousins replicated the earlier throw with another 40-yard completion to Tucker, which led to a lead-taking field goal on the stroke of halftime.

Jim Harbaugh’s team talk seemed to inspire a response in the third quarter, as Herbert found Tre Harris in acres of space to pick up 53 yards, before Oronde Gadsden made a touchdown catch to hit the front.

The experience of Cousins proved pivotal in the remaining one-and-a-half quarters of the game, with his calm head coming to the fore as the Raiders wrenched back the lead through fellow veteran Cody White.

Things came crashing down for Herbert in a replication of last week from there on out, beginning with a fumble of his own, followed by one by Hampton, which was picked up by Jeremy Chinn.

White’s second touchdown extended the lead beyond doubt for Las Vegas, but the Chargers’ nightmare was typified by Herbert’s second interception and shortly after, a safety, as Los Angeles succumbed 26-14, the same scoreline as their last defeat.

It’s hard to put a finger on what the root cause of the Chargers’ struggles is, but it needs immediate fixing or the season might have slipped away before it has even started. Mike McDaniel was the favourite for Assistant Coach of the Year entering the season, but his reign as offensive coordinator has only seen the offense deteriorate thus far.

Touchdowns
Los Angeles Chargers: Hampton, Gadsden
Las Vegas: White 2, Tucker

Top Performers
Los Angeles Chargers: Hampton, Hart, Scott
Las Vegas: Cousins, Tucker, White, Masses, Dean

Injuries
Los Angeles Chargers: Njoku (knee)
Las Vegas: Stukes (concussion)

Crowd: TBC