What are Raiders' Biggest Priorities vs. Chargers?

The Las Vegas Raiders open the 2024 season at SoFi Stadium against the Los Angeles Chargers in less than two weeks.

The last time these two teams matched up, the Raiders dropped 63 points, a franchise record. That game was enough for the Chargers to fire Coach Brandon Staley and General Manager Tom Telesco, who is now in charge of the Raiders.

The Raiders are 69-58-2 against the Chargers in both their histories, with four straight seasons of the franchises splitting. The Raiders hope to sweep the Chargers this season, which would indicate significant improvement.

The Chargers are led by Coach Jim Harbaugh, who has won at every level of football he has coached.

The Raiders want to start the season 1-0 as they did last season. What do they have to do to make that happen?

Let’s look at three major priorities for the Raiders when they begin the season against the Chargers.

Stop the run - The Chargers should be an effective rushing attack under Harbaugh and Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman. Surprisingly, the Raiders struggled to stop the run throughout the preseason.

Maxx Crosby and Christian Wilkins need to get the rest of the defense in line to stop the run. The AFC West has several offenses capable of gashing teams on the ground, so the Raiders cannot replicate their defensive struggles in the regular season.

New additions JK Dobbins and Gus Edwards are familiar with Roman’s offense, so the Raiders must take away that element of their offense.

Keep the QB upright - The Chargers have two excellent pass rushers in Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa.

Both edge rushers are a bit older now but still effective. Mack posted a career-high in sacks last season while making his eighth Pro Bowl. Bosa posted six and a half sacks in 2023.

The Raiders must keep these two dynamic edge rushers away from Gardner Minshew. If they can keep him from getting sacked or having to escape the pocket, they should have success against the Chargers’ defense.

The Raiders will look to win their second straight game over the Chargers, which would be a great way to begin a new season under Coach Antonio Pierce.

Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @HondoCarpenter and IG @HondoSr and never miss another breaking news story again.

Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.

Add us as a preferred source on Google