Raiders Looking For Revenge In Rematch With Chargers

Jeff Spiegel
Jeff Spiegel
6 Min Read
Nov 13, 2022; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) warms up before a game against the Indianapolis Colts at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

For the second time this season, the Las Vegas Raiders will get a crack at the Los Angeles Chargers — this time at home, and hopeful that they can get a different result.

If you remember the last time out, the Raiders trailed 17-3 at halftime but came all the way back with a chance to take the lead in the final four minutes when their defense forced a punt. Unfortunately, Derek Carr and the offense couldn’t capitalize — gaining only one first down before turning the ball over on downs.

Little did we know that this Week 1 defeat would be a sign of things to come for the Raiders, who would lose three of the next four games heading into their by week.

On the Chargers front, things have only gone marginally better. As usual, they could point to a slew of injuries, but at 6-5, they’re in the midst of yet another disappointing season, finding themselves one game out of the playoff picture at the moment.

Interestingly enough, the Raiders actually have a better point differential (-11) than the Chargers (-30) despite the two-game gap in records.

Can the Raiders ride the momentum of back-to-back wins and close that gap to just one, playing spoiler to Los Angeles’s playoff hopes once again? Or will Sunday be Vegas’s wake-up call that the last two weeks have been merely a mirage?

Josh McDaniels, Raiders
Oct 30, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels looks on against the New Orleans Saints during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Key Stats

Los Angeles: 29th in points allowed per game, 30th in yards allowed per play, 31st in rush percentage

When I look at the season the Chargers have had, it feels familiar: put the game on the shoulder of Justin Herbert and hope for the best. Despite being a defensive coach originally, Brandon Staley’s crew has been unable to create much resistance on that side of the ball — actually faring worse than the Raiders this season. It’s funny to look back at the first matchup to see how low scoring it was, only because I have a feeling round two might end up with nearly twice as many points scored.

One thing that worries me about the Raiders is the rush percentage number. If there’s one thing the Raiders’ defense can hang their hat on, it’s that they’ve been okay at stopping the run (12th in yards per rush allowed) — and yet the Chargers run it less than just about anyone. That’s bad news for a Raiders defense that is 29th in yards per pass allowed.

Las Vegas: 24th in rush percentage, 4th in yards per rush

This will be a huge talking point after what Josh Jacobs did last week, but with a back as good as Jacobs — and an offensive line that is much better at run-blocking than pass-blocking. Why run so rarely when you have been so efficient?

And yet, with Josh Jacobs reportedly skipping practice this week in hopes of being ready for Sunday, maybe the status quo remains in place for another week.

Key Players

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles: Keenan Allen

Back after a lengthy stint on the IR, Allen is going to be looking for redemption following a disappointing game the first time these two teams met (4 catches, 66 yards, 0 touchdowns). In his last 10 games against the Raiders, Allen has had 6+ catches seven times but has topped 100 yards just twice. He has also reached the end zone just three times.

Zamir White, Raiders
Oct 23, 2022; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders running back Zamir White (35) warms up before a game against the Houston Texans at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Las Vegas: Zamir White

The fourth-round rookie out of Georgia has just 10 carries on the season — never topping two in a game at any point — but his 28 yards last week was a career-high and may end up being a launch point for more involvement moving forward. As mentioned above, Josh Jacobs is nursing a calf injury — so look for White to possibly play a bigger part in the game plan this week.

Prediction

Los Angeles 38, Las Vegas 35

I think it’s another close one — and I was impressed by a quality win last week in Seattle, but I’m still not sold this team can do it consistently yet. As I laid out earlier in the week, I’m not sure Josh McDaniels is ready to help his team win games as a head coach yet — and I think that hurts them in this one.

Information

Jeff Spiegel was raised in California but currently resides in Portland, Oregon. After graduating from the University of Oregon, he worked in sports before entering journalism full time — first as a Sports Reporter and then as the Associate Editor of a small newspaper. Online, he has been writing about both the Raiders and Dodgers since 2012 — having written for DodgersNation.com and SBNation.com prior to joining both DodgerBlue.com and RaidersNewswire.com. He left full-time journalism in 2012 to become a pastor. Jeff can be found on Twitter at @JeffSpiegel. Favorite Raider This one is an easy one for me: Charles Woodson. When the Raiders drafted him, there was nothing to dislike about the guy — he was exciting and he was freaking good. Unfortunately, of course, he left after eight seasons — but when he returned in 2013 it was one of the better Raider moments of my lifetime. At that point, I didn't care how washed he was (and he wasn't!) — I just liked having him back in the silver and black. Obviously Tim Brown is another guy that was easy to love, but Woodson is the all-timer for me. As far as current, I'm still a believer in Derek Carr and think he's going to figure this all out. Favorite Raider Moment I think I'll go with the two weeks leading up to the 2001 Super Bowl. As a kid, I remember getting the newspaper every morning to read what they were talking about, clipping out the articles to keep for later. It was obviously far more exciting than the Super Bowl itself, but I'll never forget those moments of hope leading up to the Super Bowl. I referenced it above, but second to that was probably the return of Charles Woodson in 2013 — I just loved the guy, and never dreamed he'd actually come back.