L.A. CHARGERS (vs. Las Vegas)
The Chargers scored just 17-20 points in two of their games, but moved the ball throughout (over 430 total yards in both) -- they appear to have one of the league's best offenses. The Raiders look improved on defense, but ...
... they've faced a trio of offenses that have generally struggled (Ravens, Steelers, Dolphins); nothing special about those groups right now. This should be a higher-scoring game, like last year's, when they split 31-26 and 30-27 games. ... The Raiders' first three opponents have averaged an ordinary 248 passing yards while throwing 2 TDs, but those are in line with what Jackson, Roethlisberger and Brissett are or can be expected to do against the rest of the league, too. Justin Herbert hitting his averages against the rest of the league looks like 319 yards and 2 TDs -- the 2nd-most productive quarterback in this game so far, but definitely a top-shelf option. The Raiders might be improved defensively; they have 7 sacks after managing just 21 all of last season. But it's early, and the schedule has ...
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... been friendly. Herbert's on top of his game, he appears to have one of the top receiving duos right now, and he fared really well against this opponent a year ago (314 and 326 passing yards, with 5 total touchdowns in the series). Herbert hasn't run much (12 and 16 yards the last two weeks after a single 2-yard run in the opener), but it's possible he'll call his own number at times (5 rushing scores last season). ... A year ago Keenan Allen caught twice as many passes (100-48) on 62 more targets (147-85) for 236 more yards and 3 more TDs than Mike Williams, so unthinkable that Williams would be putting up nearly identical numbers in the new offense. But here we are, with the biggest difference that Williams has caught 4 TDs and Allen just 1. It's early and stuff could change, but absolutely no reason at this point not to lock Williams into lineups as easily as Allen. Both look great here, with the Raiders already having allowed solid performances to five different wideouts in three games.
| WRs versus the Raiders | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Yds | TD |
| Brown, Balt. | 6 | 69 | 1 |
| Watkins, Balt. | 4 | 96 | 0 |
| Johnson, Pitt. | 9 | 105 | 0 |
| Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 6 | 41 | 0 |
| Waddle, Mia. | 12 | 58 | 0 |
Just 1 TD so far, but Herbert's better than the quarterbacks throwing to those players right now. In a higher-scoring affair, maybe Jalen Guyton will hit something long. He's playing the most after the starters. But with the rapport Herbert is showing with both Allen and Williams these days, he hasn't had to look away from those primary targets very often. Guyton played over 60 percent of the time last week without catching a pass. He has just 5 catches for 62 yards all season (even with his quarterback averaging 319 passing yards per game). Both Allen (9-103-1) and Williams (5-81) had strong performances in the home game last year. Allen got hurt early in the rematch, leaving Guyton to step up with 4 catches for 91 yards. ... Austin Ekeler has gradually moved into a workhorse role. The offense is clicking, and the other backs the team has put on the field (Larry Rountree, Justin Jackson) haven't been effective. Two weeks in a row Ekeler has 17-18 touches while playing two-thirds to three-quarters of the snaps. They'd probably like to ease that back with Ekeler a 5-foot-10, 200-pounder, but a big AFC West battle in primetime (this is the Monday night game) isn't the time for that to happen. The Raiders have allowed over 130 rushing yards twice in three games, and 5 of the 7 TDs scored against this defense have come on runs (1 of the 2 passes was to Najee Harris). Ekeler totaled 79 yards in his lone game against this defense a year ago, while change-of-pace at the time Kalen Ballage scored in both contests. ... Apart from the top 2 wideouts and Ekeler, Jared Cook has twice as many targets as anyone on the team. He's 34 years old and with his sixth team, but looks like he'll end up catching 30-plus passes with six different franchises; 40-plus with five different. Cook played for the Raiders back in 2017-2018, setting career-highs in both catches (68) and yards (896) in the latter year. The Raiders just let another pass catcher, Mike Gesicki, catch 10 for 86 at Miami. ... Tristan Vizcaino missed a 44-yard field goal (in a three-point loss) and then a pair of extra points in a six-point win, so it's possible he's on thin ice. The Raiders have allowed an average 5 field goals and 7 extra points, which works out to just over 7 kicking points per game. The Chargers attempted 6 field goals in last year's series (but missed half of those; it's a continuing issue). ... The Chargers Defense is making plays, with 3 interceptions and 3 fumble recoveries. Just 5 sacks, though. A matchup with Derek Carr can't be considered favorable, although maybe some of Carr's current excellence has to do with him being more willing to extend plays rather than check it down. Whatever the case he's been sacked 8 times (just 26 all last year) and thrown 2 interceptions. So an average type matchup. Carr was sacked twice and didn't throw an interception in a game-plus a year ago (he was injured early in the home game).