Chargers defense embarrassed Raiders QB Geno Smith on Monday night

The Los Angeles Chargers have started the season off in the best way possible. After a massive Week 1 win against the Kansas City Chiefs in Brazil, the Bolts answered for an encore last night in a dominant 20-9 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.

Jesse Minter's unit absolutely dominated all night. The Chargers didn't allow the Raiders to reach the end zone and forced three field goals on the night. Geno Smith, who the Raiders traded for this offseason, had a nightmare performance. The Bolts' defense came up with three interceptions on the night against Smith.

It was an overwhelming defensive effort, one that embarrassed Smith on the national stage. In his 12 pass attempts over 10 yards, Smith completed none. All three of his interceptions were part of those attempts, meaning 25% of Smith's passes over 10+ yards were takeaways.

Geno Smith did not complete any of his 12 pass attempts over 10 yards downfield against the Chargers, throwing three interceptions on those passes.

He became the only quarterback since 2016 to attempt at least 10 downfield passes in a game without a completion.#LVvsLAC pic.twitter.com/YdzDOulRUx
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 16, 2025

Minter has the Chargers defense playing at an all-time level and picked up where they left off from last season. They'll need another solid performance this week, as they take on another division rival in the Denver Broncos.

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